Breath of Life
by ChatterChick
Summary: They were happy. They were healthy. Their lives were coming beautifully together. Follow Neville and Hannah Longbottom on their journey to start their family.
1. Prologue

**Breath of Life**

by ChatterChick

Summary: They were happy. They were healthy. Their lives were coming beautifully together. Follow Neville and Hannah Longbottom on their journey to start their family.

A/N: This is written for the _Pregnancy Challenge/Competition_ over at HPFC. This is just a short prologue, the rest of the chapters should be longer.

_***updated version as of 04/05/15***_

Thanks to your encouragement and thoughtful reviews I've edited and hopefully made it overall a tighter and more accurate story :) Feedback is still always appreciated!

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**Prologue**

_January 2004_

This couldn't be right.

Hannah stared at the clear water in her toilet bowl.

She reached for the package that the tiny vial had come in to read the instructions once more. She had done this right, hadn't she?

_2 spoonfuls of potion taken with 1 2/7 cups of fluid. No alcohol._

_Results should appear within an hour._

"Oh drat," she sighed.

It was disappointing, she admitted to herself. She and Neville had married nearly six months ago after what had been a wonderful three-year relationship. Pillow talk had recently turned to the family that both of them were quite eager to create. A little boy or little girl with Neville's round face and Hannah's blond curls. Or eventually both if they were lucky. Hannah had been the owner of the Leaky Cauldron for two years now and was quite confident in her role. Neville started last September as the new Herbology professor and while Hannah didn't think anyone would ever live up to dear Pomona Sprout, her husband definitely came close. They were happy. They were healthy. Their lives were coming beautifully together. It had felt like the right time. They had started trying for a baby soon after the holidays.

Hannah thought her body agreed when she missed her period. It wasn't just late; after two weeks she was sure it was not coming.

She had picked up the potion from the apothecary down the street to find out for sure. If she was pregnant, her pee would be purple until the potion was flushed out of her system. The darker the purple, the further along she was in her pregnancy. She had a thin, paper stick with the entire purple spectrum from the faintest of purple at two weeks to an almost black-purple at nine months.

Only, her pee was still clear. No baby.

Neville knocked on the door. "Hannah? Is everything alright?"

She could hear the growing concern through her husband's voice. This was the third time this hour she had gone to the washroom. Maybe she should have realized it the first time she had gone with no results. Only, she had convinced herself that the potion just hadn't gone through yet. She and Neville sat at their supper table in their private quarters above the Leaky drinking glass after glass of water.

"I'm fine, I'll be out in a minute."

She flushed the toilet and washed her hands before heading out of the master bathroom to where Neville was waiting for her.

He nervously ran his hand through his hair. "So?"

"I'm not pregnant." She offered Neville a small smile. "I think I just got a little over excited."

"We both did," he agreed. Neville stepped forward to take both of her hands in his. "You only just stopped taking the contraceptive potion, this might take some time."

She felt hopeful. Not everyone got pregnant on the first try, she was sure she would be soon enough. And of course taking some time was not a bad thing. They could have a lot of fun in the meantime. She said as much, and Neville's dark brown eyes gleamed as he bent down to kiss her. She breathed in deeply as she eagerly accepted her husband's kiss. Neville always smelt wonderful, the benefit of spending so much time outdoors with the earth and the plants.

"Now, do you have _some time _tonight or are you too busy grading essays?" She playfully unbuttoned his work robes. He was wearing the nice grey ones with moss green detailing today.

Neville walked backwards into their bedroom, leading her towards their bed. "Oh, I think I can give my lovely wife some time."


	2. Baby Blues

**Breath of Life**

by ChatterChick

Summary: They were happy. They were healthy. Their lives were coming beautifully together. Follow Neville and Hannah Longbottom on their journey to start their family.

_***updated version as of 04/05/15***_

A/N: Huge thank you to everyone who read/reviewed/favourited/followed after the first chapter! Here's the next part, hope you enjoy it :)

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**Chapter 1: Baby Blues**

_April 2006_

Hannah daintily took a sip of the French wine that Fleur Weasley had handed her upon her arrival. Years of working at the Leaky had refined her tastes and she could admit that she was turning into a bit of an alcohol snob. This was much sweeter than the red Italian wines Hannah preferred, but she didn't want to offend the proud French witch.

"It is very sweet," Hannah told her in what she hoped sounded like a compliment. "Is it made from elven berry?"

Fleur beamed at her. "My sister made it herself."

They made brief small talk, before Fleur excused herself to welcome another arrival with a glass of wine. Hannah wandered around the backyard. There was still a bit of a chill left in the air, but Hannah could pretend it was late spring if she stayed in the direct sunlight long enough. Luckily the rain had held off for once today and the Weasleys were able to set up the yard to accommodate the many people who would be there. Ginny had given birth to a second son the week before and the Weasleys were holding a party at the Burrow. Colourful balloons twisted into magical creatures swayed in the breeze and a huge banner read "Welcome Albus Potter". Tables were set up with a huge spread of Mrs Weasley's cooking and various trays contributed by the rest of the guests. A small crowd had gathered around the Potters to congratulate them and coo over the baby. Hannah was really only here as Neville's plus-one as she had never been particularly close to Harry or any of the Weasleys.

Hannah sat down in a lawn chair next to Luna, one of the few people in attendance who wasn't a blood relative or in-law to the large Weasley family.

"Hi Luna," she cheerfully greeted the other witch.

Luna was wearing a sun dress made up of patches of fabric with pastel letters and numbers on them. She had a daisy-chain around her neck and a large pair of sunglasses in the shape of a half moon. Her hair was just as long and wild as it had ever been, and months in the tropical rainforest had given Luna a healthy glow.

"Oh Hannah, I'm so happy to see you!" Luna expressed. She passed Hannah the tray of squares next to her. "Pumpkin fudge? I made them myself this morning."

"Thank you Luna." Hannah took one of the offered treats and sampled it. "I didn't expect to see you until the anniversary." Luna's work as a magizoologist often took her out of country to more exotic locations, although she always made it back in time for the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts. "How was Peru?"

"Oh wonderful," said Luna. "Rolf and I spent most of it tracking the Chullachaqui through the Amazon. Rolf's still there, trying to take a picture for our notes. I thought Ginny would deliver early again so I changed my portkey to be here a few weeks earlier than planned."

Neville sat in the lawn chair on the other side of Hannah. "Hullo Luna."

Hannah drifted in and out of Neville and Luna's conversation about some of the magical ferns Luna had encountered. She turned to a favourite hobby of hers, one that had only increased in her time as a bartender; people watching.

She couldn't imagine being part of such a large and busy family. Neville was an only child and had just a couple of elderly relatives. He still had his parents, but they were confined to the permanent spell-damage ward at St Mungos and barely recognized their son no matter how often he visited. Her own parents had died during the last war, and all that remained of her immediate family was her brother, her grandfather and a muggle grandmother she barely knew.

Here, there were a great number of relatives and young children running around the yard. The children were still quite small and there was usually an exhausted parent close behind. Hermione and Ron were the last of the Weasleys to have any children, although that would change in several weeks time. Hermione was round with her first pregnancy and Ron hovered close by his wife.

It seemed that everyone suddenly was having babies this year.

Ernie and Susan Macmillan had their second daughter, Brianna, over the holidays. Zacharias Smith and his wife, Lauren, had a daughter in February. There had even been an announcement in the Daily Prophet a few months back that Draco and Astoria Malfoy had had a son named Scorpius.

Everyone was having babies, except for her and Neville. Hannah's thoughts were interrupted before she could dwell on them too much.

"Speech!" A couple of the Weasley brothers prompted. George's voice in particular carried over the rest. "Speech!"

Ginny tossed her red mane and gave a cheeky grin. "Oh, I'm sure my brothers _really_ want to hear about how this all started, one night nine months ago – "

"_Ginevra,_" Mrs Weasley scolded her only daughter.

"Go ahead, dear sister, we all know you're not that innocent," George boldly told her.

Ginny smirked and Harry looked only mildly uncomfortable. Hannah supposed Harry was fairly used to dealing with his wife and in-laws at this point. He quickly cut in before Ginny could volley back another inappropriate comment.

"I think they'd much rather hear about their nephew."

Ginny picked up the sleeping newborn out of the basket next to her to show him off as Harry spoke. He was bundled in a knitted blanket with a baby dragon on the front.

"He's been quiet so far today, but usually he sleeps about as much as Jamie did, so I'm not going to even pretend this will be coherent."

"He's sweet though, I think he's going to look just like his Daddy." Ginny smiled down at her son, looking more like her mother in that moment. "Harry and I would like to take this time to thank Mum and Dad for holding this party. It _really_ would not have happened without their help."

Harry kissed Ginny on the cheek before speaking again. "Secondly, we would like to thank our good friends, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood, for agreeing to be Al's godparents. Ginny and I can't say how much it means to us that you'll be in our son's life. We'd also like to thank all of our friends and family for being with us on this happy occasion."

"To Albus Severus Potter!" Ron merrily cut in, raising his glass of wine in a toast. The rest of the crowd joined in, toasting to little Al's good health and a happy future.

"Albus Severus Potter," Neville tried out the name. "I never thought I'd live to see Harry name a kid after Snape."

Hannah patted Neville's hand. "I'm sure he had his reasons."

Neville shook his head, still clearly baffled by the strange choice in name. "And Ginny _let_ him. Godric, Hannah, promise me we'll name our kids after someone who actually deserves it."

"But Dolores Longbottom has such a lovely ring," Hannah teased him, but inside her heart had stopped at the mention of their future child. She had been off of the contraceptive potions for almost a year and a half now. It was starting to be a sore point that everyone around her had one, if not two children by now, and didn't seem to take nearly as long. Questions were starting to turn to a future baby Longbottom. A topic that Hannah wanted to dodge more and more and people wanted to ask more and more.

"Are you planning one soon?" Luna asked. "The springtime is a magical time to conceive a baby. The rebirth of all the plants is very rejuvenating for one's body."

"Yes, well, we're working on it." Neville's eyes flickered briefly to hers.

"You should drink the tea of mandrake leaves," Luna serenely suggested, "They help with fertility."

"Do they?" Hannah asked, sharing a look with Neville. He shrugged in response. While they both treasured Luna's friendship and wisdom, sometimes her advice could be off the mark. Luna's unconventional knowledge was still mingled with a lot of conspiracy theories, myths and old witches' tales, so it was hard to take some of it seriously.

"Oh yes, but you have to drink them in the light of the full moon, in tribute to the moon goddess Artemis. She's a patron of childbirth you know."

She would file away mandrake leaves as a possibility, one she would revisit if she got desperate enough.

"Thank you, Luna," Neville sincerely told her.

xXxXx

Hannah flipped through a calendar book while she stood behind the bar, every so often glancing up to see how her customers were doing. It was just twenty minutes shy of the lunch-hour rush when everyone in London seemed to go on break.

_Her last period was the last week of March, so that meant the first day of her cycle would have been –_

Hannah frowned as she looked at her calendar. It had been over twenty-eight days since her last period.

Her period wasn't exactly like clock-work, but it should have been here by now. Hannah drummed her fingers along the counter as she thought. By the weekend she most definitely should have started and it was now Tuesday. She didn't want to get over excited about it, but she still had some of that pregnancy potion left and it couldn't hurt to see.

She was startled out of her thoughts by a pair of lips pressed at the base of her neck. She shivered at the touch.

"Neville!" She giggled as she spun around. "You're home early!"

She found herself face to face with her husband, a bouquet of cheery yellow flowers filled in the small space between them. He knew they were her favourites and grew them in his greenhouse year round. Every so often he would pluck a few before coming home. Their apartment never lacked fresh cut flowers. The petals twirled around the centres, waving merrily up at her. They were aptly named Dancing Daffodils.

"What's the occasion?" She asked.

"Have I ever needed one?"

"I think I might have one." She smiled as she accepted the flowers. "I'm late."

Neville's eyes widened with surprise, before a smile took over his face. "Did you take the potion?"

"No, but I could take it tonight, after I hand the Leaky over to Luke." She tried to settle her stomach which was doing a dance of its own.

Neville's joy was infectious as he kissed her. "Good, but wait for me. I want to be here when you find out."

xXxXx

There wasn't a baby that April, and there wasn't one either in August when she skipped her period again. She could see the disappointment in Neville's eyes when he tried to smile and say "Maybe next month."

But each month hurt a little more when her period arrived, and each month Hannah got a little more desperate. She quit drinking and followed a strict diet. She listened to all the silly old witches' tales, wondering if they had any merit. She recorded her monthly cycle in her calendar, trying to figure out which day was the best to try to conceive. During the week she ovulated, they had sex almost every night just in case. The disappointment had taken its toll on her mood though, and it was starting to feel more like a chore and less for pleasure. Frustration was starting to seep in that no matter how often, what position, what she did, what she didn't do, she _still_ wasn't pregnant.

She even started drinking Luna's mandrake tea, asking Neville to collect the leaves from one of his greenhouses. It tasted horrid, but Hannah stubbornly had a cup every morning before and after the full moon just in case Luna was right about the lunar goddess.

So when December came and with it another missing period, it was with anxiety rather than hope that Hannah sat alone in the master bathroom. She didn't even tell Neville this time, not wanting to get him excited again over a false-pregnancy.

Shakily, she swallowed two mouthfuls of the potion before following it with two glasses of tap water. She stayed on the cold tile floor of the bathroom until she finally felt the faint pressure from her bladder. She sat on the toilet, long after she had finished using it. She didn't quite trust herself to stand, scared to turn around and see the clear toilet water.

But she couldn't sit on a toilet seat all night. Even after two years of disappointment Hannah still had a little hope inside her that this would be the time. That she would turn around and see that faint purple tinge and it would all be worth it. So she managed to find the will to stand up and turn around.

Her hand flew to her mouth as she peered into the toilet bowl for the fourth time that year. Clear water stared back at her yet again. Her heart sunk deep into her chest and she tried to blink away the tears. She had expected this anyway, she tried to tell herself. It was always the same thing. She'd skip a period, get over excited and find out it was over nothing. At least this time she only got her own hopes up over it.

Merlin, what was _wrong_ with her?

She quickly flushed the toilet, splashed some water from the sink to clear her reddening eyes and headed out. Only, she stopped in surprise when she stepped into the bedroom. Their room was bathed in the soft glow of a hundred candles floating in mid-air. The bed was covered in the yellow petals of her daffodils.

Suddenly overcome with emotion, Hannah felt tears prick her eyes for the second time in a matter of minutes. When she spoke, her own voice sounded higher and tighter than usual. "What is this?"

"I wanted to surprise you."

"It's not even – " Hannah wiped the corners of her eyes with her finger. She weakly smiled. "I shouldn't ovulate for another week."

"Exactly, this evening is going to be about _us_."

"Neville – " She softly protested.

"I've got that cheesecake you like from the Wicked Goods Bake Shop, and a fantastic Elf wine to go with it. We don't even have to have sex; just let me do something nice for you. I think we've still got some of that lavender oil, I could work out the knots in your shoulders."

It was too much. She couldn't handle this right now. She started shaking her head.

"I know we've both been distant lately, and thought we should try to reconnect. Having sex with you shouldn't feel like a chore! It should – "

Hannah finally started crying as she sunk into their bed. Neville ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

"Shit! I didn't mean – Oh Hannah, I didn't mean it like that. I love you, you know that don't you?" He sat on the edge of the bed next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "We've both been so stressed and frustrated, and it shouldn't be this way. No wonder you're not pregnant yet, all that stress can't be good for you! I thought maybe I could bring some of the romance back. I think we need that. We can take a break from trying for a baby for now; take some of the pressure off of you."

"Neville, stop it." She pushed his arms off her shoulders, looking at the floor as tears continued to fall from her eyes.

This didn't deter him; in fact it only made him more concerned. He gently brushed his thumb against her cheek. "Hannah, talk to me, love. Please tell me what's wrong? All I want is to help you, please let me."

She raised her watery eyes to meet his warm brown ones. Finding courage in Neville, she finally spoke the words out loud.

"I think something's wrong with me."


	3. Healer's Orders

**Breath of Life**

by ChatterChick

Summary: They were happy. They were healthy. Their lives were coming beautifully together. Follow Neville and Hannah Longbottom on their journey to start their family.

_***updated version as of 04/05/15***_

TRIGGER WARNING: There is mention of torture at the hands of the Carrows in this chapter. It's left vague, but it can be interpreted as sexual violence. I'll leave it up to the readers to decide for themselves what happened. Personally, I didn't intend for that to happen to Hannah and meant it more in the lines of dark magic.

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**Chapter 2: Healer's Orders**

_End of December, 2006_

The flower petals and candles were vanished and the cheesecake and wine stored for a happier occasion. Hannah spent the night wrapped tightly in Neville's arms as he murmured reassurances into her tangled hair.

"I'm so sorry," she kept repeating. Tears were streaming freely down her face and all of her bottled up thoughts and worries were finally being shared. "I r-really want to have your baby and I just _can't_."

"Shhh, no, it's okay Hannah. This isn't your fault," he'd murmur back, gently rubbing circles into her back.

"What if it is though? I mean, we don't even know how much damage the Carrows did to us that year, I had no idea what half those curses were – " She broke off, overcome with harsh sobs. It wasn't fair. She had been Head Girl that year, and the professors couldn't protect them so it was up to her and the others to look out for the younger ones. Merlin, the amount of times she had woken up on the stone floor of the dungeons confused after a detention with the Carrows –

Neville pulled her out of her thoughts with a kiss to her forehead. His body had stiffened next to hers and his hold on her had tightened. She felt guilty for bringing up her torture at the hands of the Carrows. Neville had taken over the leadership of the DA after Luna and Ginny were removed from Hogwarts that year. Despite the fact that they all rebelled willingly, Neville took the pain of each DA member to heart. She suspected her emotional pain hurt him more than any Cruciatus Curse ever could. Merlin, this wasn't _fair_.

"You can't blame yourself, besides, for all we know _I_ could be the problem," Neville reassured her, gently caressing her face with his thumb. He pressed it to her lips as she tried to protest. "I took just as many curses as you did, remember? Or maybe I've always been sterile, we just don't know. It's not your fault, just like it's not my fault. We'll find a way to have that baby, I promise. Okay?"

She nodded, closing her eyes and letting Neville comfort her.

"It's my period," she whispered, "I keep skipping it. Something's got to be wrong! I _know_ that's not normal."

"We'll schedule an appointment at St Mungo's then, and see what's going on, okay? We'll figure this out." Neville pulled her closer to him, nestling his chin on top of her head. She cuddled deeper in his chest, any further and she might as well have climbed in. "I promise we're going to figure this out."

xXxXx

The light of the morning made everything seem a little better, in Hannah's experience.

She woke up still wrapped up in Neville's arms, one of them now loosely slung over her hip and the other digging in under her shoulder. She closed her eyes and let herself doze for a few more minutes, enjoying the feeling of peace and calm that the morning brought.

They had a plan and they were going to be fine. That was what she had to hold on to, that was what would get her through this day.

When Hannah opened her eyes again, she found Neville staring back at her.

"Morning," he lazily whispered.

There wasn't much space between their faces, and Hannah filled in the gap with a kiss. "Morning," she greeted in return.

It was still the Christmas holidays, so Neville had no classes to teach today. He had shifts during some of the afternoons and evenings to keep an eye over the students who stayed behind at Hogwarts. Luckily there were enough professors who stayed at the school over the break, so Neville could spend most of the holidays as he pleased.

Neville had quickly sent their owl off to their old school friend, Michael Corner, to see if he was free this week for a healer's appointment. There was a quick response on the DA galleon with _1030AM-TODAY-MC _where the serial number should have been engraved. It was similar in style to how they used to short-hand meeting dates and times during that year. Although, these days they were more straightforward as they no longer had to jumble the letters and numbers in case someone else found the coins.

Hannah went downstairs to check on her staff and make sure they could manage for the morning while she was at the hospital. Neville came down with her as they would leave soon from the Leaky.

"Oh shit," she heard Neville groan the moment they walked into the busy pub.

Hannah followed Neville's gaze to where an elderly witch with an emerald green outer robe and a purple hat with a stuffed vulture sat alone at a table. She felt like swearing herself. Hannah's relationship with Neville's Gran was civil at the best of times and this morning was certainly not the best of times.

Unfortunately, Augusta Longbottom caught sight of them the moment they walked into the room. She probably had been seated at that table with her pot of tea all bloody morning, waiting for them to appear.

"We don't have to – " Neville tried to say.

"We should," sighed Hannah. "I don't want to give her any more reason to hate me."

She was grateful that he didn't try to argue that his Gran didn't hate her. While hate may be a strong word, it was getting harder to deny that Augusta was not thrilled with Neville's marriage to _that bar wench_. Augusta was extremely critical of Hannah and thought her grandson deserved a much better wife. She probably thought her grandson, _the hero of Hogwarts_, deserved some pretty little trophy witch who would play house while Neville worked. It boiled Hannah's blood every time she thought about it.

"Hello Gran," Neville politely greeted. He gave her a peck on the cheek before sitting down next to her. "I didn't know you were coming today."

Augusta inclined her head as she surveyed the two of them. She smartly told him, "You live above a _pub_ Neville, I dare say you're used to guests at all hours of the day _and_ night."

"Yes, but our flat has security charms so our guests don't accidentally wander into our private rooms," Neville cheerfully responded.

A lifetime with Augusta had taught Neville how to deal with her constant criticisms. Hannah envied him how easy he was able to brush off his grandmother's harsh words. Yet she also didn't envy him, knowing how hard his childhood had been with Augusta and how little self-esteem he had as a result of her. Neville couldn't resent the witch who had been his only family growing up, so Hannah did it for him.

Hannah sat quietly with them, answering the few questions Augusta levelled her way, but Neville deflected most of Augusta's prying anyway.

" – and I have to wonder when you two plan on having children. Neither of you are getting any younger, she can't have many child-bearing years left."

Hannah felt her face tighten as she fought to keep a neutral expression. Merlin only knew what Augusta would say about her if she found out how difficult it was proving to be for them to have a baby. She'd probably demand a divorce on the spot, or start shoving witches under Neville's nose who could provide him with children. It wouldn't be the first time in their relationship that Augusta had introduced Neville to _more appropriate girls_.

Under the table Neville put a hand over her knee.

"Hannah and I will have children when we're ready, we're in no rush."

Hannah could tell Augusta had hit a nerve, Neville rarely looked so angry. Augusta must have noticed it too, because she vanished the rest of her tea and started collecting her things.

"I thought after marrying her you'd come to your senses and settle down, but I see living atop a pub really hasn't changed much." Augusta frowned as she reached for her red purse. "Only the distance you have to travel home, if the Prophet is to be trusted."

"Which it's not," Neville strongly insisted. "Just because we live here doesn't mean we're getting pissed every night."

Augusta pulled a few silver coins out of her purse, but Hannah waved her off.

"Your breakfast is on the house," Hannah automatically responded. In a tone that not even Augusta could find fault with, she added, "You are family after all."

There was a swift nod as Augusta stood up to leave. "I'll see you both Sunday for brunch then. Tea is served at eleven sharp."

She left the couple as she headed into the marketplace. Augusta was a predictable old witch and came to the Leaky every Tuesday for tea at nine-thirty and then left to run her errands at ten. She managed to leave Hannah rattled every time.

xXxXx

"Hannah Longbottom here to see Healer Corner."

The receptionist at the front desk didn't even look up from her copy of Witch Weekly.

"Spell Damage, fourth floor, room four-oh-four," she told them as she flipped the page. "Please sign your name here."

They had known that, of course, but St Mungos was finicky about paperwork and didn't like it when people went straight to the healer without checking in at the front desk. Hannah signed her name and the time on the piece of parchment the receptionist handed her before they took the lift to the fourth floor.

Michael's speciality was fixing cursed scars and undoing other sorts of dark magic. But he kept a small list of patients for whom he acted as a general healer. That list was exclusively made up of DA members and their families.

He was waiting for them in his office when they arrived, two files laid open at his desk. Michael was a very handsome young wizard, with high cheekbones, a strong jaw line and a wicked smile. He had short cropped brown hair and dark brown eyes that always sparkled with some untold joke. A long, thin scar ran from just under his left eye, all the way down his check, jaw and neck, disappearing under his green healer's robes.

Hannah could see _Hannah Mary Abbott Longbottom _and _Neville Frank Longbottom _written in neat penmanship on the tops of the folders. Michael gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk and they sat down. Neville thanked Michael for seeing them so quickly.

"I hope it wasn't too much trouble," he added.

Michael grinned as he leaned back in his over-large office chair. "None at all, I'm just missing their monthly meeting. Really, you're doing _me_ the favour. Now, what can I do for you?"

For all of Michael's joking around, he was good at keeping his smart mouth shut when he was acting as healer. He was the picture of professionalism as Neville and Hannah described their on-going problem with trying to conceive a child.

"But it's been two years now," Hannah fretfully explained. She could feel Neville's silent support as he squeezed her hand. "There's been a few times when I missed my period and I thought that maybe – but then I'd take the pregnancy potion and – "

Neville's arm wrapped around her shoulders as he gently continued for her. "We thought it might be best to visit you and make sure everything's fine."

"How often have you missed your period the past twelve months?" Michael asked.

"Three times," Hannah told him. She still hadn't told Neville about the last one, and he glanced at her in surprise. "We've tried everything, I've been keeping track of my period, I've been watching my diet, no alcohol, I've been drinking mandrake tea every month –

"Mandrake tea?" Michael rolled his eyes. "What kind of crackpot gave you that – "

"Luna." Neville firmly answered.

Michael seemed to deflate. "Luna. Right."

"Why? Is there something wrong with the tea?" Hannah fretted.

"Hm? Oh, the tea is harmless." Michael ticked off his fingers. "Some think it can help with fatigue, apparation sickness and potion indigestion, although there's no evidence either way. It tastes disgusting, so I recommend you stop because it's really not worth the trouble."

Michael stood up, stretching as he did. He danced his fingers along the spines of the medical books on the large bookcase behind him before deciding on one. He looked up something, quickly flipping through pages until he was satisfied with whatever he found.

"There could be a few reasons you haven't conceived yet." He told her, pulling out a fresh needle and gloves from one of his desk drawers. "I'm going to take some blood from you, Hannah, and we'll go from there."

He wrapped a rubber band over her right arm and asked her to relax as he injected the needle and filled a little vial with her blood. Michael dipped his healer's quill into the vial.

"_Sanguis revelio_," he muttered.

The quill set itself to writing out the results of her blood work. He asked a few more questions about the regularity of her cycle and when was the last time she had her period. Michael's brow furrowed as he scanned the results from the blood tests. He had the textbook opened in one hand and was glancing back and forth to compare the results. "Your hormone levels are off for where you should be in your cycle though. You're not ovulating normally, there's probably months when you didn't release an egg at all."

"So what do we do?" Neville asked. His hand found hers again, intertwining their fingers as they both waited for the answer.

"You can go home and keep trying naturally. It'll take a little longer, but I wouldn't rule that out. Or there's a mild form of the fertility potion that will help Hannah regulate her cycle more normally. Similar to how the contraception potion helps maintain it, although this one doesn't prevent the egg from being released."

"And what if this doesn't work?" Hannah asked.

"There are other options if we need them, or if you wanted to look at them. I do have to warn you, couples who use fertility potions have a greater chance of multiple births."

"I wouldn't mind having twins," Hannah murmured.

"There's also triplets, quadruplets, quintuplets – " Michael listed off, letting the last word hang in the air. "About twenty percent of couples have multiple children with these potions, and less than five percent have more than two at once. The odds are very small, but just so there are no _extra_ surprises."

Neville nodded. "We can talk about that if it happens. We both wanted more than one anyway, but it's been so hard for us just to conceive so far."

Three had been the number of children they had talked about in the beginning, but Hannah would give her wand arm up just to have one healthy baby now. Neither wanted to get their hopes up even more.

"It wouldn't hurt to try the potion," Hannah said, looking towards Neville. "Right?"

"If that's what you want to do."

Michael pulled out a fancy scroll of parchment and filled out a prescription and daily instructions, explaining as he did so. He signed his name at the bottom, rolled it up and passed it to Hannah. "Start taking it the first day of your period. Owl me the day you start and I'll get you back here to check your blood again. We'll see if I have to adjust the strength of the potion, but this should do it."

xXxXx

True to his word, Michael met with Hannah on the first day of her cycle every month. At the beginning of March she found herself in his office again, waiting for him to check over her hormone levels. Last month he said they looked promising, so the strength of the fertility potion must be fine.

Hannah scanned some of the titles of the books on Michael's shelves as he reviewed the blood work. _Magical Anatomy, Muggle Medical Mysteries, The Healer's Handbook -_

"That was fast," muttered Michael. He was smiling as he looked up from the parchment. "You're four weeks pregnant."

Hannah's hand floated down to her stomach in shock. "You're sure?"

Michael looked amused. "Of course I'm sure."

"But there was blood this morning," Hannah fretted. What if she lost the baby just as quickly as she learned she had one?

"A little spotting is normal," Michael gently replied. "There's a baby in there, and he's doing just fine."

Hannah timidly touched her stomach, flattening her hand against it. She couldn't feel anything, although the baby was still really tiny and her stomach had never been perfectly flat. But her and Neville's child was growing somewhere in there. She smiled as she added, "Or she."

"Or she," he amended. "Now, there are some things we should talk about to take care of you and the baby, why don't you take a seat?"


	4. Delicate

**Breath of Life**

by ChatterChick

Summary: They were happy. They were healthy. Their lives were coming beautifully together. Follow Neville and Hannah Longbottom on their journey to start their family.

_***updated version as of 04/05/15***_

Alright, time for some FLUFF! Because you deserve seeing some happy Hannah and Neville for a change :D

* * *

**Chapter 3: Delicate**

_Early March 2007_

Hannah hummed to herself as she set their little two-person table for supper that night.

She smiled as she looked at the table, realizing they would need a bigger one in the not-so-distant future. She could just picture her little family gathered around it now. The thought was just enough to make her start weeping again with joy.

Hannah summoned the cutlery from the drawers and they settled into place before being followed by the plates.

Neville would be floo-ing home to the Leaky any minute now, and she wanted things to be set up for when he walked upstairs to their flat. She still hadn't thought of an appropriately witty way to tell Neville he was going to be a Daddy. Although she supposed it wouldn't really matter in the long run and he'd be just as excited if she just blurted it out.

Hannah waved her hand over the candles on the table and they crackled to life. With her wand she dimmed the rest of the lights and gave the tiny dining room area a romantic glow.

She was glad today had been her day off, she didn't think she would have been able to concentrate at work. As it were, she overcooked the chicken and forgot to light the top burner to boil the potatoes.

She put two champagne glasses out to celebrate, although she'd be filling them with sparkling water instead. Neville wouldn't be fazed by her lack of alcohol. She hadn't had any since New Years, and even that was a splurge after being sober for several months prior. She and Neville were never as rowdy as the Daily Prophet would have you believe, but they enjoyed a bottle of wine with supper or a glass of firewhiskey in the evenings. Being alcohol-free had definitely been an adjustment over the past year and she knew it would be one of many.

She and Michael had talked for an hour about prenatal vitamins, future healer visits and what she could and could not do during her pregnancy. Apparently apparation was out in case of splinching and she would have to adjust to travelling by other means.

Her hand fluttered down to her stomach as she thought of the baby. She had been doing that all day, completely in awe.

She heard the doorknob to their flat twist and removed her hand just in time to not give away the surprise.

"Neville!" She greeted, rushing forward to give him a kiss. Feeling overjoyed, she deepened it, wrapping her arms around his neck and sucking on his lower lip. Neville responded just as passionately, walking her backwards until she hit a wall, and then trapping her there with his hips. Hannah gasped his name as he started making his way down her jaw and down her neck with his mouth. She was tempted to let him take her up against the wall, but wanted to share the news first. She half-heartedly stopped him and pushed on his chest to get him to back up.

Neville's eyes twinkled as he pulled back, wiping his mouth with the edge of his sleeve.

"You seem very happy," Neville observed. "Was everything okay at the appointment then?"

"Everything was great," she confirmed.

"Does Michael think we might conceive one this month?" Neville asked, playfully dragging a finger across from her lower hip to her belly button. "We could get a head start - "

"Oh, no we won't be able to this month," she said, suddenly feeling inspired. "Or the month after that either. It might take us a _very_ long time. You can't really conceive a baby when you're already pregnant."

"You're - " Neville's hands were suddenly on her hips again and he was peppering her face with kisses. "You're pregnant! Oh Merlin, you're pregnant, Hannah this is wonderful!"

"I know," she laughed between kisses. "We're going to be parents, Nev! You're going to be a Daddy!"

The light, feathered kisses quickly turned more fierce as Neville attacked her lips with his own. She was against the wall once more, quite literally swept off her feet. Instinctively, she wrapped her legs around him and he carried her down the hall towards their bedroom. Before long, she was laying naked in their bed, crying out in ecstasy as her husband made love to her.

Later, Hannah felt completely at peace as they spooned in bed. Neville had propped himself up with one arm while the other was draped over her hip, his fingers lightly tracing patterns over her stomach.

"I wasn't too rough with you, was I?" he worried, "I got a bit carried away."

"I'm not made of glass," she reassured him.

Neville kissed her where the base of her neck met her shoulder. He chuckled as he responded, "I know, but I'm going to worry anyway. You and the baby, you're my life now and I'm going to take care of you."

"I love you," she whispered.

Neville traced a heart over her stomach in response. "And I love you both so very much."

xXxXx

Hannah stood at the counter of her bar, watching over her customers. Her hand would absent-mindedly drift towards her stomach as she got lost in thought. The past month had been absolutely perfect. It felt like she and Neville shared a secret, one they were about to give up to the world at the rate they were going. They shared brief glances, excited smiles and gentle touches. Neville couldn't help but rub her stomach every time he saw her. Hannah was surprised the whole world couldn't guess her secret just by looking at her, her smile was so wide these days.

They had debated when would be a good time to share the news with their family and friends. Both of them were bursting with joy, and wanted to share the news with every person they knew. But at the same time, they were both quite nervous over the still early pregnancy, terrified at the prospect of loosing the baby and then having the whole world inquire over their private grief. In the end, they came to the decision that they'd share the news with family soon, and then tell their friends after Hannah was a bit further along.

A pair of hands suddenly covered her face. Hannah let out an indignant squeak, not liking having someone sneak up behind her. She elbowed the person in the stomach and quickly spun around, her wand poised to hex.

Her assailant had his hands raised in surrender, an amused smirk splashed across his face. He looked like the male version of Hannah. He had the same curly blond hair, the same blue eyes and heart-shaped face. He had a few inches on her and was broader, although that was to be expected with the different sexes. One would assume them to be twins, although Luke Abbott was actually four years younger than his sister.

"Oh, _you_," she accused.

Luke's face twisted even more into his shit-eating grin. "Yes, _me_."

After her grandfather, Tom Abbott, had passed away he left the Leaky Cauldron to Hannah and Luke. They shared ownership of the pub and inn and divided the work between them. Luke had insisted that she take the flat above the Leaky while he took one of the larger guest rooms. Of course, Luke's room was more a storage space than a personal living space these days. He spent most of his free time at his girlfriend's flat in Birmingham.

"You wouldn't really hex your baby brother, would you Hannah?"

"I just might! You gave me quite the scare."

"The odd scare is good for you," Luke retorted. "Really gets the blood pumping, the adrenaline going, keeps your reflexes strong."

"You might want to be more careful," said Hannah. "I'm delicate."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I grew up with you, remember? I know you're not that delicate."

"Well these days I am." She tried to hint it by putting a hand on her stomach, but apparently Luke needed everything spelled out because he only looked confused. "For the next several months anyway."

"_Ohh_, you're pregnant." He sat on the counter, surveying the crowd at the Leaky. His eyes then returned to her and he was smiling that irritating little brother grin. "Neville finally figured out where to stick it then?"

He leaned away as she swatted at him, his joy evident on his face.

Luke swung around and jumped down on the other side. He looked back at his rather exasperated sister and said, "Well congratulations then. You'll be a good mum, I suppose, you certainly love nagging _me_!"

With that, he joined the crowds in the pub, greeting patrons as he went.

xXxXx

Hannah caught herself from falling, still not used to portkey travel after so many years of having her apparation licence.

She had to go to the ministry to get special permission to have a number of them registered for her use. They gave her a muggle set of keys, but each one was a different colour and would take her to a different place if she tapped it with her wand. She had ones for The Leaky, for the hospital and for a few of her friends and family's homes.

The yellow portkey had taken her next to a sign that read _Sunnyside_ in the little wizarding community of Eastwitch. It was hardly more than a row of houses just outside of Inverness with muggle-repelling charms over the area, but it was a nice little community where young witches and wizards could run around without worry of revealing too much.

It was also where her best friends, Ernie and Susan Macmillan, lived.

She let herself into the gate and walked up the dirt path that led to a cheery sunshine yellow two-storey house. The house was very prim and proper, with everything perfectly orderly and maintained. The white fence around the property looked as if it were freshly charmed and Susan's gardens were starting to return to life after the winter months.

Hannah hesitated slightly before tapping the polished brass knocker. It had been an unforgivably long time since she had last seen Susan.

It was sometimes hard to be around Susan and her perfect life, especially when Hannah's had gone off track so many times before.

Susan had been in love with Ernie since they were giggling second years and Hannah had had a huge crush on Justin Finch-Fletchley since first year. Hannah and Susan would stay up late, giggling in the Hufflepuff girls' dormitory as they planned their lives together. They'd go on double dates with Ernie and Justin when they were finally able to go to Hogsmeade in third year. They'd marry them in back-to-back summer weddings after graduating and have each other as maids of honour. They'd have their children the same year and their children would be best friends and go to Hogwarts.

It had been going to plan too; Hannah and Justin got together at the end of their fifth year and Susan and Ernie got together in the middle of their sixth. Everyone had predicted it as only a matter off time, the four of them were so close. Despite the war around them, the four of them were happy together.

Things started going south after Hannah's mother was killed in her sixth year.

And then the ministry fell before their seventh and Justin had to flee for his life. The hardest part that year was not having any contact with him, not knowing if he was dead or alive, if he had been captured by snatchers or was still on the run.

Hannah hadn't even known that her boyfriend had been dead for months until they made a positive identification on Justin's remains that were buried behind that wretched prison.

There was always a little sadness between the three friends now where their fourth, missing one should have been. It had been hard watching Susan and Ernie continue their relationship when Hannah was grieving for Justin. It had been hard again this past year to see their beautiful two daughters when Hannah struggled to get pregnant.

Hannah shook those thoughts out of her head. Somehow, through it all Ernie and Susan had never given up on her. They had been her silent pillars of strength after the war. Had gently encouraged her to find love and happiness again with Neville. She loved them more than she could ever express for that. They were her family in all but blood.

Okay, maybe there was a small amount of blood as she was distantly related to the Bones family. Still, the sentiment remained.

"Hannah!" Susan greeted her at the door. "I'm so glad you could come!"

Ernie appeared in the entranceway, hugging her the moment Susan let her go. A pair of red-haired little girls trailed behind him, clamouring to get her attention. Hannah bent down to greet them. Three-year-old Ainsley hugged her 'aunt', happily chattering the whole time. Eighteen-month-old Brianna toddled over, waving shyly at Hannah.

"Life's been busy at the Leaky?" Susan sympathized. She led her over to the sitting room. "Come, tell us everything."

Hannah nodded, grateful that Susan had provided her with an excuse for not visiting since the holidays.

There was a tea pot and a few cups set out, and with a wave of her wand, Susan poured three cups for them. She levitated one over to Hannah, who accepted it with a "Thanks". The girls retreated to their toy corner, as if they decided the grown-up talk around them was too boring.

Hannah shared how the Leaky was doing, the latest gossip she had heard around the pub, how Neville was making out at Hogwarts. In return, Susan and Ernie shared news of their lives, the girls and the latest run-in with Zacharias Smith at the ministry. Hannah was slowly making her way to her good news when Susan finally seemed to run out of patience.

She shared a glance with Ernie. "Hannah, at what point in this visit did you plan on telling us?"

"Excuse me?" Hannah innocently asked.

Susan just raised her eyebrow and Hannah broke into a smile. "Okay, I'm eleven weeks."

There was squealing from Susan and much hugging between all three of them.

"I knew it," Susan smugly retorted. "Merlin, you're glowing!"

"She is," Ernie agreed. "Congratulations, Hannah! You're going to be a fantastic mother!"

They spent the rest of the afternoon talking about the baby, and trying to guess the gender and what the baby would look like, what they would act like, which parent they'd take after.

"They'll be the best herbology student," Susan insisted. "How can they not with Neville and Hannah as parents?"

"Hufflepuff," Ernie declared. "They'll be sweet and gentle like their mum."

They parted ways late in the afternoon, Susan and Ernie insisting that Hannah come back later that week with Neville for supper. As she walked back up the dirt path to portkey home, Hannah couldn't imagine being any happier than this.


	5. Extra Surprises

**Breath of Life**

by ChatterChick

Summary: They were happy. They were healthy. Their lives were coming beautifully together. Follow Neville and Hannah Longbottom on their journey to start their family.

_***updated version as of 04/05/15***_

A/N: Huge thank you to everyone who read and/or reviewed! I'm glad you've been sticking with me through this. Please review though, I really love hearing your thoughts.

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**Chapter 4: Extra Surprises**

_Mid April 2007_

They didn't meet in Michael's office this time, but were sent to a different room on the first floor. Everything was very white and very sterile looking. There was a bed with white sheets over it, a white counter-top with silver instruments and a large set of silver scales in the corner. This was the third check-up Michael had done since Hannah had discovered she was pregnant, although the other two were fairly basic with only some blood work and some questions in Michael's office.

Michael came in soon after they arrived, with Hannah's files in hand.

"How have you been, Hannah?" He asked after getting her to sit on the bed.

"Honestly, I've had the worst time with morning sickness," she confessed.

The morning sickness had set in the past few weeks, with Hannah violently throwing up each morning for a good hour. It had eased somewhat with a potion Neville picked up from the apothecary, but she still spent the better part of the morning feeling nauseous. Michael seemed sympathetic, but couldn't do more than tell her to keep taking the No-Nausea Potion each morning and tell her that it should hopefully pass by week fourteen.

There were a few more questions, and then Michael took some more blood to see how she was doing.

"Your stats are good," Michael commented. "Curious though."

"What's curious?" Neville immediately worried.

"Nothing's wrong, we're going to do the ultra-charm, but I suspect I already know. Hannah, could I get you to lie down on the bed?"

She nodded, unsure what Michael found so curious and a little miffed at the commentary on her weight. True, she had put on more pounds than she thought she would so early on, but did he really have to say that?

With a flick of his wand, the bed began to levitate a few inches so that Michael could stand as he inspected her stomach. Hannah had worn muggle pants and a muggle blouse for the visit, so that she only had to lift her shirt up past her stomach.

"I hope neither of you are too squeamish. We're going to take a look at the baby," Michael told them. He conjured up a couple of pillows and gave them to her. "Hannah, I'm going to get you to prop yourself up, otherwise you won't see anything. Try not to fall out of the bed though. There, now just relax for a moment."

"_Intrutero revelio_," Michael raised his wand above her stomach. A bluish-white light shone out from his wand. Under the radius of light her skin had a translucent appearance and in some places, she could see straight down to the bed below her. Michael moved his wand, positioning the light so they could see inside her womb.

"Is that – " Neville's voice trailed off in wonder.

"That's your baby," Michael confirmed, "Or one of them at least. Just as I thought, there are twins. See here? Here's the second one."

"We're having twins?!" She suddenly shot up. She tried to look down at her stomach, inspecting the area for her babies. She managed to find them once Michael pointed them out.

Neville picked up her hand and kissed it. "We're having twins. Can you see them Hannah? They're beautiful." He hesitated before asking a question. "I don't suppose I could touch them?"

"You can put your hand on her stomach," encouraged Michael. "The skin's still there, it's just invisible."

Neville gently put his hand over top the area where each of the babies were. The light of the charm turned Neville's hand invisible too, although Hannah could still feel it.

"Hello there," he tearfully greeted them. "I-I'm your Daddy."

Michael let them have a moment before updating them on the twins' progress.

"Can you tell the sex yet?" Hannah asked, wondering when they could give their babies names.

"It's still too early to tell," Michael told them. "Although, you could visit a Seer, they're quite popular with couples in the early stages who'd like to know."

xXxXx

"And how is the baby doing?" Augusta asked over brunch. Her beady eyes surveyed both of them. "You would have had your twelve-week visit on Wednesday?"

Augusta had taken a keen interest in her unborn great-grandchild. They had told her over brunch the week before, and Augusta's eyes had even glistened for a moment. Hannah suspected Augusta was secretly excited, but just too proud to act like it.

"Hannah and the baby are doing wonderful," Neville shared a smile with Hannah. He then added, "Actually, we just learned we're expecting twins."

Augusta nearly dropped her teacup in surprise. "Well that is something to be happy about," Augusta said as she regained her composure. "Have you decided what you'll be doing with the Leaky? Two newborns are a lot to handle."

"Luke and his girlfriend are going to take over the Leaky for a year so I can take care of them." Hannah picked at her second scone. Suddenly her appetite vanished as she could guess where Augusta was headed with this line of questioning.

Augusta sipped her tea, her eyebrows raised. She then primly put it back down on the table. "Only a year? Surely they'll need you longer than that. Alice left her career with the aurors for good when she learned she was pregnant."

"Running the Leaky isn't as dangerous as being an auror, Gran," Neville pointed out. "Even being an auror now isn't as dangerous as it was then."

The ministry went through aurors very quickly during the Wizarding Wars. Hannah wasn't too surprised that the Longbottoms made a decision that at least one of them should change careers so their son wouldn't be orphaned.

Unfortunately, fate had a sick sense of humour.

"Diagon Alley is no place to raise a family, Neville." Augusta lectured. "There's no backyard to play in, your children will be street urchins and you know very well that they'll be sneaking off into Knockturn the moment you have your back turned."

Hannah nervously fiddled with her teacup. Knockturn Alley was a very rough street and she avoided it at all costs. It was the type of place you went to buy black market magical items, illegal potions and prostitutes. The aurors were constantly called in for raids or to break up duels. The people who worked there and frequented there were an unsavoury lot. Most of them kept their hoods up and you could rarely see their faces. It was the last place she'd want to let her children wander, although she could see the appeal for a naive child with a rebellious streak.

Neville and Hannah didn't have a chance to talk about the visit with Augusta until later. Hannah had been pulled away once they returned to the Leaky to deal with an issue about over-booking two of the rooms and Neville left for Hogwarts to check over a rare and fussy flutterby bush he had planted during the week.

When Neville finally caught up to her, she was in the kitchen of the Leaky, helping prepare supper for the large Sunday crowd. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and gave her a kiss on her cheek before greeting her stomach with a rub. "Anything I can help with?" He asked.

Neville's skills at growing things in the garden didn't transfer to cooking them in the kitchen. The most she trusted him with was washing and chopping vegetables. "If you could clean and chop those carrots and potatoes, I need them for the stew. Thanks."

Neville set to work peeling the potatoes and carrots with his wand. Quietly, he said, "I'm sorry Gran went after you like that, I went back to talk to her about respecting our decisions."

Hannah nodded, although she was still conflicted over Augusta's words. Every so often she had to admit the older witch may have a point.

"Do you think your Gran's right? About raising the children here, I mean?" Hannah asked. She had been thinking about it all day. She kept checking the spare bedroom that they were planning on using, wondering if it was too small now that they were expecting twins. She took a walk down Diagon Alley in her space time, wondering where her children would play when she shooed them out to get fresh air. She had walked by the side-street that lead to Knockturn, imagining her twins daring each other to go down that way.

"I think Gran will find fault wherever we live, what matters is if we think it's the right thing to do."

She supposed that was true. They could live in a beautiful old manor and Augusta still wouldn't think it fit for her great-grandchildren. It would probably be too big or too drafty or too _something_. She could see how the next few years would go, with Hannah butting heads with Augusta over every decision for her children. Augusta constantly dropping hints that she didn't approve of Hannah's decisions and comparing her to her beloved daughter-in-law, Alice, at every opportunity.

Oh, Hannah thought they could live in their London flat after the twins were born? Well, _Alice_ maintained such a lovely cottage in the country.

Oh, Hannah planned on being a working witch while raising a family? Well, _Alice_ had left her career as a respected auror to raise Neville.

Oh, Hannah wanted to send their children to a wizarding primary school? Well, _Alice _had planned on tutoring Neville at home.

Hannah knew she would never live up to Alice Longbottom in Augusta's mind.

As if sensing Hannah's melancholy, Neville squeezed Hannah's hand.

"Uncle Algie said Gran took forever to warm up to Mum too, she didn't care for her that much until, well –" Neville trailed off sheepishly, so Hannah tried to fill in the blanks for him.

"Until you were born?" Hannah prompted.

Neville lowered his wand, the carrots pausing mid-air. "Until she was attacked."

The subject of Neville's parents still remained very strained. It was rare that Neville spoke about his parents and even rarer that he made reference to their current state.

"Oh dear!"

"She tends to exaggerate or make Mum out to be perfect. The way she talks about Dad – " Neville trailed off, shaking his head."When I as a kid, it was like he was some sort of giant and I'd never fill his shoes to her."

"Nev – "

"She does like you," Neville reminded her.

"She likes that I'm carrying your children," Hannah corrected him.

"That certainly helps your case." Neville chuckled as pulled her in and kissed her. "Well, _I _like you."

Sometimes she wondered how her sweet husband could be related to Augusta. She pushed him away after a few minutes, not wanting any of her staff to walk in on them snogging like a pair of teenagers.

"I'm at work," she protested. She had plans to continue this later, when the Leaky was in the hands of her brother. Her hormones were running amok now that she was nearing her second semester.

"Right, right. We're supposed to be professional," Neville grinned as he pulled back.

xXxXx

Lady Pythia's Oracle was a tiny shop tucked away in one of the side streets of Diagon Alley.

The little shop bell jingled as they opened the door. The shop was even tinier inside, with purple curtains all around, even in the windows, to give it a dark and mysterious atmosphere. The room had a rather smoky appearance and there were a few candles burning on the tables. Hannah would have been worried, if it weren't for the owl correspondence that reassured her that the smoke was an optical illusion and would not harm her or the babies.

Most of this was all smoke and mirrors anyway for the benefit of customers. The pretence was quickly dropped when Hannah and Neville walked into the shop.

"Oh Neville, this is so exciting!" Lavender Brown squealed with delight. "I'm so happy for you both! You're going to have a _baby_!"

She grabbed both of Hannah's hands and beamed at her, before pulling her in for an enthusiastic hug.

Lavender had numerous, colourful shawls wrapped around herself and dozens of layered necklaces. Her hair was tucked under a purple scarf wrapped around her head. She had had extensive healing done, and you could barely make out the thin scars across her pretty face. She had heavy eye makeup and purplish swirls with silver dots decorated the bottom corners of her eyes. Lavender certainly did put on a good show as 'Lady Pythia'.

Lavender was one of the few people Hannah encountered who truly did have 'sight'. She had trained in Greece after Hogwarts and then returned home to open her own business. She had only grown in popularity after she had accurately predicted the final scores of the Quidditch league championship games for three years in a row. Now everyone came to see her.

"Have a seat," she said. She beaconed them over to the pair of silver chairs at a little round table with a crystal ball on top of it. "Are there any ground rules for me? Anything you don't want to hear?"

"I don't want any prophecy hanging over our children's heads," Neville firmly told her.

"Okay, no prophecies," Lavender agreed.

"And I don't want to know when we die," Hannah requested. "Just happy news?"

"Of course," Lavender brightly agreed. "Only happy news, I like that. I'll keep it simple then, in my experience the less you know of the future the happier you are."

She sat down across from them and reached out for her crystal ball, her hands moving majestically around it. Milky white clouds formed in the ball as she worked. Lavender's eyes looked just as foggy as the crystal ball in front of her. Hannah didn't take diviniation as an elective so she had no idea if it was all for show or not.

"You are carrying a boy and a girl," she said, her voice distant.

"A boy and a girl," Neville marvelled.

"Oh this is perfect, we'll have one of each," Hannah gushed as she grabbed his hand. This was much more exciting than finding out at the healer's office.

Lavender's purplish eyes had cleared, and she smiled softly at them. She held her hand out over the table, and then asked, "May I see your palm?"

Hannah placed it upright on top of Lavender's. The other witch started inspecting her hands, twisting and turning it around to get a better look.

"Your marriage is a strong one, no signs of divorce," Lavender approved. "There's indication you'll go through a major career change at some point in the future. Ohh, and our paths will cross twice more."

"Twice?" Neville leaned back in his chair, slightly dumb-founded. "So we'll have at least four children."

"I can't say," Lavender mysteriously replied. "Only that Hannah will want her future read twice more."

Lavender then inspected Neville's hands, more or less telling him the same things she told Hannah. "You're doing well in your second career and will be recognized for it. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"I think you told us everything we wanted to know," Neville said. "Except who will win this year's Quidditch championship. I keep placing the wrong bets."

Lavender smiled wickedly.

"Oh Neville, you know I can't tell you that."


	6. Sunshine and Daffodils

**Breath of Life**

by ChatterChick

Summary: They were happy. They were healthy. Their lives were coming beautifully together. Follow Neville and Hannah Longbottom on their journey to start their family.

_***updated version as of 04/05/15***_

Disclaimer: I know OWL is an acronym, but for whatever reason whenever I type it with the periods in-between, ffnet eats the word when I publish (it appears as O.) and I can't figure out how to change that?

* * *

**Chapter 5 - Sunshine and Daffodils**

_Early June 2007_

"Now, I'm just going to preform the ultra-charm to see how the twins are doing," said Michael.

Hannah was lying down on a hospital bed at an office in St Mungo's, chatting with Michael during her latest appointment. It was her eighteen-week check-up and she was almost half-way through her pregnancy. Her due date was November fourteenth, but they were all prepared that she could go into labour a little earlier than that, since there was a greater chance that twins would be premature. Still, that was a long time away and they had a lot to do to prepare before then.

Hannah's mind drifted to the nursery again. She had been doing that a lot lately, feeling unsettled that it still wasn't ready. Hannah had taken to sitting in the spare bedroom that was to be converted into a nursery, planning out what it would look like. She couldn't wait until Neville finished work for the summer holidays and they could tackle furnishing and decorating it.

She had wanted to do it ages ago, but she wasn't allowed to do complicated magic while pregnant out of concern that she would strain herself. Normally, a witch was fine until her third trimester with most magic, but Michael wanted them to be extra cautious since she was carrying twins. There had been a long medical explanation, although Hannah only got the basics of it. Her magic was being used to help nurture the twins and develop their own. Magical strain in expectant mothers was thought to lead to squibs, although there wasn't enough evidence in the matter.

"Where's Neville?" Michael casually asked. "I haven't seen him miss an appointment yet."

Hannah was abruptly pulled out of her thoughts and she blinked at Michael in confusion for a few seconds. She had been caught daydreaming more and more lately, and Neville had started teasing her about 'pregnancy brain'.

"Neville?" Michael repeated. "Usually he's here with you."

"Oh, the fifth years have their Herbology OWL this afternoon," Hannah explained. "He needed to be around for any last minute questions this morning. You know how those Ravenclaws can be."

Michael smiled, "I remember being a wreck the whole month."

"Same," Hannah agreed. "Certainly glad that part of our lives is over! I remember Ernie going on about study times-tables and grilling the rest of us in Hufflepuff."

She was fond of her Hogwarts years, although now that they were done, she certainly wouldn't want to repeat any of them. She remembered breaking down from the pressure of doing well during OWL revisions, saying she was too stupid to do _Herbology_, which had always been her best subject. She had been such a basket case that year!

"I nearly hexed him when he told me six hours a day wasn't enough," Michael reminisced. He ended his incantation and helped her sit up. "Now, I'd like to see you and Neville both this time next week, there's a few things we should discuss now that you're almost halfway through."

"Everything's fine?" Hannah asked.

"Everything's fine," Michael reassured her.

xXxXx

"Sorry I'm late," said Neville as he entered the flat that night. "Minerva wanted to talk to me before I headed home."

"Were you in trouble?" Hannah teased. Her feet were propped up on the couch, resting after a long day at the Leaky. She had brought up the leftovers from today's special to their flat. It had been kept warm with heating charms so they wouldn't have to worry about making something themselves later. She had just been waiting for Neville to get home so they could eat together.

"When am I not?" Neville winked. He kicked off his trainers and then sank into one of their armchairs. "Actually, Davey Grudegon, the old retired auror they have teaching Defence? Well, he's set to go back into retirement after the school year and McGonagall had an offer for me."

"Oh Neville, you can't! You love Herbology!" Hannah protested.

It was ridiculous, just because Neville happened to be good at defence didn't mean he should teach it. He had left his career with the aurors because he wasn't happy there. Hannah didn't think it was right to ask him to take over when he'd much rather be out in the greenhouses. And his lesson plans were so good at engaging the students and making them actually _like_ the under-appreciated class. Although, sometimes Hannah wondered if that had more to do with them liking the young, handsome war-hero who taught Herbology.

"That wasn't the offer," Neville smiled, clearing enjoying himself. "Professor Grudegon was also acting as head of Gryffindor."

"Head of - " Hannah straightened in surprise. "Oh Neville, that's fantastic news!"

Neville was truly a wonderful professor and cared greatly for his students. Hannah knew he'd make a wonderful Head of House. He blushed a little, but he was clearly delighted. "I was quite honoured, Minerva had some strong feelings on the subject and wouldn't take no for an answer."

"You told her _no_?"

"I told her I would talk to you about it. It's more responsibility, but it comes with a promotion - " Neville trailed off with a shrug. The pressure to provide for their family must have been getting to him. They both made decent salaries, but they would be taking a cut from Hannah's wages since she wouldn't be working for a year.

"You're going to make a fantastic Head, the students all love you," Hannah told him. They would figure out a way for Neville's career to balance with their young family. He wouldn't be the first professor or Head of House to have young children. Hannah knew Sprout had been a young mother of three when she first started teaching.

As if knowing that her mind had wandered to her former professor, Neville asked, "Suppose I'll be as good a Head as Sprout?"

"Of course not," Hannah giggled, "But second-best is not so bad."

"I might even have to settle for third-best. Minerva's a tough act to follow." Neville held his former head-of-house in just as high esteem that Hannah held hers. "I'm glad things are getting better, I was terrified for a while last winter."

"I know, it was a rough time, but I thing everything's going to be sunshine and daffodils from now on," Hannah agreed. It was a phrase her mother liked to use when everything was going swimmingly. She'd say everything was 'sunshine and daisies'. Hannah thought her version suited them much better.

xXxXx

"Hannah, Neville, why don't you take a seat?"

Michael looked tense when he greeted them in his office the following week. Hannah felt the hairs on the back of her neck prick up and dread slowly settle in the pit of her stomach. This wasn't a meeting about taking care of her and the twins. This was a meeting to break bad news.

"What's wrong?" She blurted out, not wanting to beat around the flutterby bush.

Michael looked pained when he spoke. "When I was examining you, Hannah, last week there were some abnormalities."

Hannah immediately grabbed onto Neville's hand, terrified of what was about to come. He squeezed her hand back just as hard. How bad could these abnormalities be? Whatever was wrong with their babies they could fix. They would love them and take care of them the best they could. There was nothing they couldn't –

"I'm so sorry I have to tell you this, but you lost one of the twins."

"No!" Hannah heard her own voice scream. The death grip Neville had on her hand slackened as he sat still in his own shock.

"No no no no, that's not possible," she denied. Her hand dropped to her stomach, protectively holding it. "I have twins. I have two beautiful babies. I didn't _lose_ one, they're right there."

"Hannah – "

"This isn't a _joke_, Michael, these are my _children_."

Neville was kneeling next to her chair, trying to hug her and console her, but she struggled against his arms, not wanting to be consoled. Still, Neville did not let up, stroking her hair.

"Hannah, I'm so sorry," Michael gently continued. "You know I wouldn't joke about this."

It was true, she knew. Michael was a father himself and he knew that the news he was delivering was a parent's worst nightmare.

One of her babies was dead.

Large tears welled up behind her eyes as she started openly sobbing. Her heart sunk deep into her stomach, disappearing with her missing baby. Neville cradled her protectively in his arms, letting her cry into him as he directed the conversation. Hannah could hear the sadness behind Neville's quiet voice, but he managed to hold it off to get in his concerns and questions.

"I don't understand, how can you just _lose_ a twin?"

"It happens sometimes with multiples, one will vanish during the pregnancy and the other one survives full-term. There are explanations in some cases, but most of the time it's a mystery I'm afraid."

"And this time - "

"The baby died sometime between weeks eighteen and twenty." Michael paused for a moment, as if unsure whether he should continue. "My best guess is that something was wrong with them, maybe they weren't as healthy as the surviving twin or as developed and that the pregnancy was aborted. Hannah wouldn't have noticed the change because she's still pregnant, despite suffering from a miscarriage."

"What about the other one?" Neville asked, his voice breaking. "Can this happen to our other one?"

"Hannah and the remaining twin are perfectly healthy." Michael tried to reassure him. "I looked at both of them last week, and I'll run a few tests to see how they're doing today. Hannah, do you need a moment or are you feeling up to an examination?"

Hannah numbly nodded, letting Michael take some blood from her. He then transfigured his desk into a hospital bed and got her to lie down so he could do the ultra-charm. When he was done, he reassured them that the remaining was perfectly fine. Not that Hannah would truly believe him until her baby was born and placed into her arms.

"What should we - is there anything I can do?" Neville helplessly asked. Hannah felt him glance in her direction, but she had nothing to offer him right now.

"The best thing for you do to right now is to take Hannah home and grieve for your lost baby. Get some rest, take care of each other, and I'll see you back next week."

"Which twin was it?" Hannah suddenly asked, tears started streaming down her face again. She had been so happy to be carrying one of each, knowing each would be special in their own way. Michael had confirmed it not long after Lavender predicted she was carrying a boy and a girl. "My boy or my girl?"

"It was the girl," Michael answered.

xXxXx

The portkey took them back to their flat, a small blessing that she didn't have to walk through the Leaky in her current state. Not that she really cared at that point. Her mind wasn't processing things, her body just moving as if it were being lead by the Imperius Curse. She started opening and closing her dresser drawers, pulling out the pieces of her work uniform.

The simple black robes, the apron with the Leaky logo, and her hair needed to be tied back, and then she'd have to redo her make-up from where it ran down her face -

"Hannah - " She ignored Neville who had been silently watching from the doorway. "What are you doing? Hannah - " He tried to stop her, grabbing hold of her clothes so she couldn't change into them.

"Neville, stop, I need to - " she was shaking, the words just tumbling out of her. "I need to see my staff, I need to organize supper, I-I need to - "

"You need to take a rest." Neville insisted. "You're in shock, you shouldn't be working. I'll get Luke to take over."

"N-no, I need to work," she protested as he steered her towards the bed.

"You're upset, you're stressed, Hannah, _no_!"

He kept his arms around her as she struggled, holding her as she collapsed in a heap of sobs. He lowered them both until they were sitting in the middle of their bedroom floor. She hadn't noticed until he was up close, but Neville had the remnants of tear tracks down his eyes as well. His hands gently gripped her shoulders.

"You need to take care of you and our son," He firmly told her. "Let me - let me take care of you. Let Luke handle the Leaky, _please_."

Finally she nodded and gave him her consent to handle things, feeling too overwhelmed to make any decisions herself. Neville concentrated for a few moments before a silver lion burst out of his wand and leapt towards their open window, a trail of silver wisps left in his wake. Normally Neville's patronus made her feel happy and safe. Her husband, her proud, courageous, protective, true _lion_ of a husband. No animal better suited him.

But today she felt nothing when she saw it.

Exhausted and with no energy to protest, Hannah let Neville help her. He manoeuvred her out of her maternity robes into something more comfortable before helping her into the bed.

"Is there anything you want?" Her asked as he tucked her in. He stroked her hair. "Anything at all?"

She knew that Neville would move earth and moon to get her anything in that moment. But he couldn't give her what she really wanted.

"Can you hold me?" Her voice quivered.

"Yeah - yeah, I can do that," he quietly replied, before climbing into the bed next to her. He pulled her into his embrace while she started to cry again.

She had spent weeks imagining what her unborn children would be like. Would they look more like their Mummy or their Daddy? Would they be in Gryffindor like Neville, Hufflepuff like her, or perhaps a different house? Would they be shy and cautious, or would they be adventurous and make her worry to death? Would they be best friends? Would they be in sync like the Weasley twins or as different as the Patil twins? She had counted down every day until the day that they were expected to be in their lives.

It wasn't fair that they should lose one before they were born, it wasn't fair that their baby girl could just disappear before they could even hold her.

"She would have been a Daddy's girl," Hannah tearfully spoke.

"She would have," Neville's voice choked. "Would have had me completely wrapped around her fingers."


	7. Isabelle Longbottom

**Breath of Life**

by ChatterChick

Summary: They were happy. They were healthy. Their lives were coming beautifully together. Follow Neville and Hannah Longbottom on their journey to start their family.

_***updated version as of 04/05/15***_

* * *

**Chapter 6 - Isabelle Longbottom**

_End of June 2007_

"Hannah, come on." Neville said, pulling the blankets off of her. "You need to get up."

It had been just over a week since Michael had told them that they had lost their little girl. Yesterday, they had gone back for another appointment to make sure things were still fine. Hannah had sat there numbly as Michael explained what they were going to do to ensure she and the remaining baby were safe. Apparently she was considered 'higher risk' now and Michael had scheduled more frequent appointments for the next little while.

There were also some decisions that Hannah and Neville needed to make regarding the lost twin. They could choose to have the remains of the baby vanished in the womb, have them disapparated out or give birth to her in four months with the surviving twin.

She hadn't understood most of it, the words washing over her and sounding like some foreign language. She didn't want to make any decisions, feeling exhausted and overwhelmed with the options.

"You should get up, shower, maybe we could take a walk in the park together? It's nice outside."

His suggestions fell on deaf ears as Hannah curled into herself. She didn't want to get up, she wanted to be left alone so she could go back to sleep. Her arms wrapped around her stomach, and she wondered if her son knew he lost his sister.

"You need to take care of yourself," he pleaded. "For you and our child. Our son, he still needs you."

She wished he would just go away. He had been sad with her the first night, and even the days after, but Neville hadn't been as broken over it as she had. She wearily closed her eyes, hoping she would be able to fall asleep this time.

"Hannah, I'm not going to sit back and watch you do this to yourself! You're barely eating, you're not sleeping, you're not _moving_!" Neville finally exploded. "At the rate you're going, you're going to lose the other one and that will be entirely on you."

Her fist curled around the pillow next to her and she hurled it across the room at him. "Get out!"

xXxXx

"Go away, Neville," she growled the moment the bedroom door opened. He had disappeared some hours ago, but apparently he was checking up on her again.

"I sent Neville to check on my snargaluff tree, I thought he could use some fresh air."

Hannah froze when she heard Augusta's voice instead of Neville's. He sent his _grandmother_ after her? How in Helga Hufflepuff's good name did he think that would help things? She didn't respond, but that didn't matter because Augusta just kept going.

"And quite honestly, I think a little fresh air could do you some good too."

The Longbottoms seemed to be of a similar mind that _fresh air_ would solve all her problems. She could just go for a walk in one of the many parks in London, admire the pretty flowers and suddenly life wasn't all that bad. They could both go hang with some flowering baskets.

With a wave of her wand, Augusta drew open the curtains and let the summer sun shine into Hannah's dark bedroom. She hissed, feeling much like a vampire after so many days of hiding inside. Hannah pulled the duvet over her head, blocking out the harsh light.

"That's quite enough," Augusta told her. "You can behave like an adult, or I will treat you like a child, but one way or another you are going to get yourself up out of that bed and carry on with your life."

Years of being polite and trying to make a good impression on Augusta bloody Longbottom went out the window. She was done playing the polite little Hufflepuff wife. The covers flew off of Hannah as she suddenly sat up in her bed and responded in her iciest tone, "Oh, bloody hell! You do not get to come into _my_ bedroom and tell _me_ how I should be dealing with the death of _my_ child! Do you _really_ want to go there?"

The two of them stayed frozen in silence for a few moments, eyes locked on one another. Hannah felt her heart thundering in her chest, feeling something other than the dark mess of depression and grief and guilt that had been draining her for the past week. Pure anger that Neville had the _gull_ to send his grandmother after her - the grandmother he _knew_ hated Hannah. Even more anger that Augusta stood there acting like she knew best. The woman who had spent sixteen years grieving her own son and belittling the one he had left behind. Augusta circled the room, slowly returning to the queen sized bed that Hannah shared with Augusta's grandson.

Hannah nervously waited for the response, wondering exactly how Augusta would chew her out. The response was not what Hannah was expecting.

"Did you know Neville should have had an older sister?" Augusta mildly asked as she sat on the foot of Hannah's bed.

Her heart still hammered in her chest, but Hannah stayed quiet. She was a little curious where this was going, but terrified she was being set up for a trap.

"Frank and Alice married straight out of Hogwarts," Augusta shook her head ruefully. "I was against it at the time, they were so young. I even wore black to the wedding, my Frank had never been so angry with me. I regret that now, looking back at how little time they had together."

Any other day and Hannah might have rejoiced that at least Augusta didn't wear black to her wedding. Her grandmother-in-law had worn an acceptable set of emerald dress robes and even a festive hat with a pair of love birds for the occasion. Bitterly, Hannah wondered if Augusta learned her lesson the first time.

Augusta continued with her reminiscing, as if she didn't even notice Hannah. "And then about a year later they had little Isabelle, they called her Izzie. Such a sweet child, she took after Frank. I used to watch her in the afternoons."

Hannah hung on to Augusta's words, morbidly curious where this was going. As far as she knew, Neville never had any siblings. Or at least he never mentioned one.

"She caught the Hag's Cough during one of her checkups at the hospital." Augusta's eyes narrowed dangerously, "Some _idiot_ didn't want to wear a bubble-head charm and infected the waiting area. She passed away within a week, it's a terrible sickness in the little ones."

Augusta's shoulders sagged and she looked older as she continued. "Alice and Frank were devastated, naturally, they adored their little girl. They buried themselves with their auror work, and I thought that would be the end of any family they'd have. Until a few years later when Alice got pregnant again. They didn't tell anyone, I didn't even know until Alice was halfway through." Augusta smiled sadly at this point in her tale. "Alice was so fearful with Neville, every sniffle or cough and she went into a panic. I told her she'd make the boy soft at that rate, not that she ever listened to me. They eventually went into hiding, but I couldn't blame them for that. They had opposed Voldemort so often, and they didn't want to risk – " Augusta's voice broke. "They were frightened someone would come after Neville."

"I can't tell you I understand how you feel, I know you're going through a hard time." Augusta petted her leg. "But you've still got to take care of yourself."

Overwhelmed, Hannah started crying, wanting her husband and his more gentle approach.

"Now I'd start with a shower and a meal," Augusta warned her as she rose from the bed. "I'll send Neville back once he's done with that tree."

Before she left, Hannah stopped her with a question.

"Does Neville know? About Isabelle?"

"No, he doesn't," Augusta admitted, "I thought it was unfair enough that he was denied his parents as a boy, I didn't have the heart to tell him he had lost a sister too."

xXxXx

Hannah was showered and sitting at their kitchen table by the time Neville came home. She had made herself a large English breakfast for supper and was silently eating it, with the copy of the Daily Prophet open next to her. A mixture of surprise and relief was on Neville's face when he walked into their flat to find her up and about.

"There's extra on the stove, or you can go see what Luke has left in the kitchen downstairs," she coolly informed him, "Unless you plan on sending my brother up after me?"

"I'm sorry you're upset, but I'm not sorry I did what I did," Neville told her as he fixed himself a plate. "You were a wreck, and it seems that Gran said _something_ to snap you out of it."

"I suppose," she curtly responded. She was still a bit peeved that Neville sent his gran after her, although she knew he probably felt desperate if he was willing to talk to his gran about any problem concerning her.

"She does have a - er - _way_ of getting things done." Neville offered her a small smile, the one he usually wore when trying to make her come around.

"That she certainly does," Hannah muttered. She stabbed at a few remaining hash browns. She wasn't even sure who she was angry at any more, but Augusta seemed like a good target. Wearily, she rested her head in her hand. "I don't think I'm mad at you, really, I'm just angry at everything and everyone, and I'm exhausted and just want to sleep and cry all the time, I'm such a mess and don't you dare say it's - "

"Hormones?" Neville gave a ghost of a smile.

"I will kill you, Neville," she warned as she speared a sausage with her fork. "When does it get better?"

Neville reached across to hold her hand. "Hopefully soon."

They sat in silence as they finished eating. Now that Hannah actually had something in front of her she realized she was starving.

"So what did Gran say to get you up?" Neville asked when they were done. "She wasn't too hard on you? I did ask her to be kind you know, if she wasn't -"

"I think she tried in her way," Hannah truthfully replied. "And most of it was how it's difficult to lose a child, but that I needed to continue on."

"So she told you about Isabelle then." It was a statement rather than a question.

Her mouth dropped open. "I thought you didn't know."

Neville looked tired and worn as he explained. "I found the death certificate in Mum's things when I was in seventh year. Gran doesn't know I know. Figured she might use that as a shared experience or whatever, since she doesn't like to talk about Dad."

If there was one thing Augusta didn't do, it was get emotional. Opening up to Hannah about losing Frank probably would have been too personal for her, especially if she was trying to stay in control of the situation.

"We should talk about what we're going to do now," sighed Hannah. She knew all along what she wanted to do, she just didn't want to do it.

"We don't have to make any decisions today, we've got time."

"I want to hold her, give her a proper goodbye, a _name_ – " Hannah stopped herself. "I know some couples just vanish them, but that's not _me _and I don't think it's you either."

"I know love," Neville murmured, giving her a kiss on the top of her head. "I'll owl Michael then. Next week?"

Hannah nodded. "And for the name, how do you - how do you feel about Isabelle Augusta Longbottom?"

There was a brief moment before Neville started to nod. His eyes watered for a moment as he said, "I think that's a beautiful name."


	8. The Green House

**Breath of Life**

by ChatterChick

Summary: They were happy. They were healthy. Their lives were coming beautifully together. Follow Neville and Hannah Longbottom on their journey to start their family.

_***updated version as of 04/05/15***_

A/N: I was going to reward you with fluff after the last few chapters, but then this chapter took on a mind of its own.

* * *

**Chapter 7 - The Green House**

_End of July 2007_

After a tense second trimester, Michael had finally eased off the weekly appointments now that Hannah was safely into her third. It would only be a brief break before Hannah neared her due date and the check-ups increased again. But today, Hannah was at St Mungo's for a different reason.

When they reached the fourth floor, Neville and Hannah didn't go to Michael's office, but rather, made their way to the Janus Thickey Ward where long-term patients stayed. While Neville made sure to visit his parents every week, Hannah had only been to visit with him on a handful of occasions. They had usually been large occasions, like introducing her as his girlfriend and then as his wife. She also visited them on major holidays and birthdays.

Today was Neville's twenty-seventh birthday.

Alice perked up at the visitors in their end of the ward. Neville's parents each had a bed and a night stand next to one another, and a curtain that could wrap around the pair of beds for privacy. There was also a table and a few chairs around it for visitors. In the middle of the table was a potted plant Neville had given them one Christmas.

Today seemed to be one of Alice's 'good' days. She was smiling and humming some nonsense tune to herself as she approached them. No one was ever sure if she recognized them or not, but it was easier to pretend that she did. She slowly approached them, and then gave Hannah a rough pat on her cheek before doing the same to Neville. She was usually the liveliest of the pair, and freely moved around the confined ward while Frank was more catatonic and stayed in his bed. Sometimes he'd be sitting up when they came, quietly starring off into space. Today someone had helped Frank into an armchair.

"Hello Mum," Neville greeted her. "How are you?"

There was no response. Once Alice greeted them, she wandered off to her night stand where she kept a little jewellery box with some of her things. She picked up a bright blue button out of the box and gave it to Neville. "Thanks," he quietly replied.

Hannah had witnessed this exchange on every visit. Alice liked greeting her guests with a 'present' of some sort. A gum wrapper, a button, some string, really whatever she had on hand that day.

Alice and Frank Longbottom were only in their mid-fifties, but looked like they had both aged far beyond their years. Both looked very thin and fragile, with papery skin. Frank was balding, with grey hair crowning his head. Alice had white hair herself, that was thin and looked dead.

"Hannah and I have some news," Neville continued in an overly cheery voice. "We're expecting a baby in November. You're going to have a grandson."

Alice seemed no happier or no sadder than if Neville told her the weather was lovely today. Frank stared blankly at the pair of them from his armchair.

"We'll come visit with the baby once he's born," Hannah told them. "So you can meet him."

Again, there was no response from Neville's parents. Hannah hoped Alice would have more of a reaction upon seeing the baby. She at least could tell when people came to the ward, even if she didn't openly recognize them, and responded positively to kneazle-therapy. It would be nice if she recognized a baby on some level.

Hannah and Neville kept up a steady stream of cheerful conversation after that, telling them about the weather, the latest Quidditch games, their plans for the baby. Hannah could feel her cheeks hurting from the false-smile that she had kept up during the entire visit. It was emotionally exhausting, pretending to keep up a normal conversation when Frank seemed so mentally absent and Alice kept wandering off to pace the length of her bed. She didn't know how Neville did this every week, visiting his parents and seeing them in this state. After a little over an hour, they got up to leave.

The moment the door to the Janus Thickey Ward magically sealed behind them, Neville's face crumbled and he covered his face with a shaky hand.

"Neville?" She hesitantly asked.

" 'M fine, just need a moment," came the muffled reply.

Hannah's hand instinctively made its way to his shoulder, rubbing small circles in a gesture to comfort him. Neville so often kept his emotions hidden from the world, rarely letting them see him in pain. Years of being belittled by Augusta, bullied by Snape, tormented by the Slytherins and coupled by many losses in his young life had, brick by brick, put up a rather strong wall. Hannah knew she was one of the rare few who had seen him cry as an adult.

"It's okay," she whispered, pulling him into a one-armed hug.

"I just wish they could understand," Neville quietly replied. "I wish for once they'd know."

xXxXx

Hannah shifted uncomfortably in her bed. Her growing stomach was making it difficult to find a position she could rest in, and these days she was plagued with many restless nights. She had given up on much sleep for the next while anyway, all of her friends informed her she'd be getting even less once the baby arrived. Wearily, she grabbed her wand from her night stand and conjured some pillows. She tucked them in around her, between her legs and a wall behind her back.

Just as she was settling in, Neville starting moving in his sleep.

Hannah's eyes cracked open. He might just find himself sleeping in the spare bedroom if he was going to be a problem.

"Nooo - " he weakly cried out, his eyes fluttering behind the closed lids.

Neville started tossing and turning and any plans of banishing him from their room were forgotten as she tried to wake him up. "Neville? Neville! Wake up love, it's just a dream."

His eyes shot open, and he stared up into her own.

"Hannah?" He seemed confused at his surroundings and his chest was still rising and falling much too quickly.

"You were having a bad dream," she explained. Both of them still suffered from nightmares and flashbacks to the Battle of Hogwarts while asleep, although the frequency had begun to lessen with time. "We're home."

"We're home," he repeated, looking around as if to reassure himself.

Hannah laid onto her side, nestling her head in the crook of his arm, letting him wrap an arm around her. Yawning, she asked, "Did you want to talk about it?"

Neville was silent for a long time. If it wasn't for his open eyes, Hannah would have thought he fell back asleep. "I was at Hogwarts, the Carrows were trying to get me to stop. They brought me to this room down in the dungeons. Only they had you and our son down there - I woke up before - " His voice choked, and he trailed off.

"Shhh, no love, that wasn't real," she said. She gently cupped his face with her hand. "The war's over. The Carrows are dead. Our baby gets to live in peace because his Daddy helped end the war."

"It's not just the war. I'm terrified, about being a good dad- which, frankly, I don't know the first thing about," he confessed. "And what if something happens? Something bad, and I can't protect him from it? We've already lost one of them and there wasn't a thing we could do to stop it. You're going to have to go through labour, and once you're in the delivery room I can't really do anything but just _stand_ there - "

She patiently listened to Neville's worries, hearing him repeat thoughts that had crept in the back of her own mind from time to time.

"You can't let yourself think of the worse-case scenario, Nev, you're going to drive yourself crazy," she sleepily told him, "We just have to believe things are going to be fine."

He still seemed doubtful, and Hannah supposed it was something he'd just have to deal with when the time came. There were no promises she could make that they would all be fine anyway, both knew full well that they were just empty words. A million different things could happen in the future, a million different things could go terribly wrong. But for every thing that could go wrong, there was the much bigger chance that things would go right.

xXxXx

"I ran into Dean at The Three Broomsticks today," Neville began. Neville had been at the school for meetings regarding the up-coming school year all week. Somehow, they usually ended up with a trip to the pub in Hogsmeade during lunch.

"I feel like I should be offended, my husband seen at another pub!" Hannah teased him. "Should I be worried?"

"The Leaky has no competition," Neville innocently replied.

Hannah was amused how he side-stepped that one. Madame Rosmerta had been in the business for decades and certainly knew how to make her drinks just _so_. Although she had to be loyal to her Leaky, Hannah thought that the butterbeers brewed at The Three Broomsticks were perfection in liquid form.

"Anyway, Dean has an interesting proposal for us. He's recently fixed up an abandoned house in Hogsmeade and was wondering if we're interested."

"Couldn't hurt to take a look," Hannah replied, excitement bubbling up in her chest. They had flip-flopped on the topic of moving ever since Augusta had frightened Hannah by telling her that her children would be sneaking into Knockturn Alley the moment she had her back turned.

They didn't have to rush into any decisions just yet, they would be fine living above the Leaky for the next few years. The thought of having a house with a garden and a backyard and more space certainly had its appeal though. Luke and his girlfriend could take over the flat above the Leaky, which would make more sense since Luke had been stepping up more and more after Hannah had gotten pregnant. Hannah and Neville agreed that if the right house at the right time was made available, they could hardly say no.

They had a sizeable nest egg in their shared vault at Gringotts. Hannah had inherited her parents' house, and after selling it, spilt the value of it with Luke. During his years as an auror, Neville had earned more than he could spend, and had kept some of it aside for his future family.

"I'll owl Dean then, tell him we'll pop by on Sunday."

Dean Thomas greeted them outside a freshly charmed mint-green house in Hogsmeade village. Dean was trying to pursue a career as a wizarding artist, but he renovating abandoned wizarding homes as a side job in the meantime. There were a number of magical homes that had been destroyed during the war when families were murdered or taken over night. The ministry didn't have the time to fix every one, so they put them on the market for next to nothing in hopes that someone would buy and restore them. The last house on Peccary Lane had been Dean's latest project and he was happy to show them around.

Hannah immediately felt at home in the bright and cheerful house.

"It's a modest three bedroom, although there's always room for room-expansion charms or add-a-room transfiguration," he said as he walked them through the house. "No ghouls or ghosts, but there is a colony of gnomes living in the garden and I _think_ a boggart might have moved in under the sink. I'd take care of that before you move in though."

The kitchen walls were charmed a pale yellow and accented with warm maple cupboards and counter tops. The curtains swayed in the summer breeze and the entire room was bathed in sunlight. It was much brighter than their London flat. There was also a lot more room, and a larger table sat in the dining room with six chairs around it.

"The floo in the living room has been re-connected to the network," Dean told them. "And it comes with the usual package, anti-fire charms, burglar-warning charms, and the option to have an anti-apparation jinx placed inside the house."

They climbed upstairs to the second level to the bedrooms, spending time looking at each. The view from the master bedroom overlooked the street. It wasn't too long of a street, and she could just make out the turn that lead into the main part of the village.

"The whole village is under muggle-repelling charms," Dean continued. "There's also The Little Sorcerer Daycare in the village for when you want to go back to work, and there's Athena's Primary once they turn seven. And the main selling feature is that Hogwarts just around the corner, so Neville isn't far and, parents really like this, the kids can visit on Hogsmeade weekends when they get older."

Hannah immediately glanced at Neville, a smile splitting her face. It really was perfect for them.

Dean handed a piece of parchment with the price of the house. It was a very decent price, and Hannah suspected Dean had kept it low it as a favour to old school friends.

"I don't know how we'll say no," Neville said, sharing another look with her. "Can we meet at Gringotts this week to work out the payment and sign the deeds?"

Dean grinned. "Sure, I'll see when Griphook is free and we'll meet then."

By the end of the week, the deeds to the mint-green house were theirs and they were looking at moving in and preparing it for the baby. Of course, they quickly dropped the 'mint' from the name and started calling it 'The Green House'. Dean had gifted them a swinging sign with 'The Green House' painted in green and whittled into the shape of an actual greenhouse. Neville planted Dancing Daffodils around the sign, with further plans to add more gardens during the upcoming weeks.

Today was the day that Hannah would finally get her nursery done. Neville and Luke had been there all afternoon, transfiguring the basic furniture they had purchased it make it look nicer as well as help decorate the room. Hannah wanted to escape the traditional baby colours of purple and green the wizarding world was so fond of, and settled on a nice sky blue for her baby's room.

"It's not _sky_ enough," Hannah wistfully said, "I want the baby to feel like he's _outside_."

She had the perfect vision for the nursery. The ceiling and upper half of the walls would be charmed to a sky blue. There would be grass and trees and other plants painted onto the walls. A sun and fluffy white clouds would be painted too. All the furniture would be wooden, with painted green vines creeping up the sides. They'd put a few potted plants on the windowsill, and all of his plush animals would be little woodland creatures.

She caught the eye roll Luke tossed Neville as he changed the shade of blue once more.

"I'm not being ridiculous!" She insisted.

"Of course not," Neville gently agreed. "You just want things to be perfect for the baby, but Hannah, we must have gone through at least fifty shades of blue by now."

At least half of them were Luke fooling around, she reasoned. He couldn't possibly believe that -

"Oh no, that's a horrible colour! Change it back."


	9. Bundle of Boy

**Breath of Life**

by ChatterChick

Summary: They were happy. They were healthy. Their lives were coming beautifully together. Follow Neville and Hannah Longbottom on their journey to start their family.

_***updated version as of 04/05/15***_

A/N: Almost time for the birth, just a few little things left! And sorry for the teasing of certain names, I'm sure that's not always true :P I have heard teachers sometimes have a hard time naming their kid because they see so many kids with those names and they start to associate them with certain personalities.

There will also be an epilogue up after this. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 8 - Bundle of Boy**

_End of September 2007_

Hannah snuggled into Neville's side, _1001 Magical Baby Names_, propped open between the pair of them. Inside were lists of the most popular names every year for the past century, as well as infamous names like Morgana and Merlin. Many were, quite frankly, outdated or just plain _odd_.

"Ethelbard," Neville read out loud from a list in the forties. "Now that's a winner. Right up there with Mortlake and Catifern."

"Oh stop it." Hannah giggled. They were admittedly horrible names that would only get their kid bullied in school. That was the first rule they had agreed upon. Nothing too outlandish and nothing that could have any disastrous nicknames. Their son was already going to have to have a thicker skin with a surname like Longbottom. Hannah was sure Neville had heard every creative variation that Draco Malfoy and his pet thugs could toss at him in school. "Be serious for a moment, were there _any_ that you liked?"

Neville shook his head, before he shut the book and tossed it onto their coffee table. "I don't think we're going to find one in here. I prefer something a little simpler than any of these."

"We could go muggle, those are more common with our generation anyway. I always liked the name Bradley," Hannah suggested. "Bradley Longbottom."

Neville immediately shook his head. "I've got two Bradleys in my classes. You don't want to name a kid that. Trust me, Bradleys are trouble."

Hannah absent-mindedly rubbed her stomach, trying to think of another boy's name she liked. It seemed that the lists and lists of names she used to dream up to name her future children simply weren't good enough now that they were actually talking about names.

"Well then, what about Jeffrey?"

"They're even worse," Neville groaned.

"What did little Jeffrey ever do to you?"

"Bradley and Jeffrey thought it was funny to nick one of my Mimbulus Mimbletonias before exams. Did you know Stinksap syrup makes you smarter? I never heard that one before. Half the OWL students stunk something awful that week."

"Oh dear," Hannah giggled. "So not Jeffrey."

Hannah picked up the next book their friends had loaned them, _Modern Names for the Magical Child_, and began flipping through it. 'Harry' had been listed as the number one boy's name of the decade while the top girl's name had been 'Lily'. Hannah couldn't help but wonder how much trouble those boys would get into if they were anything like their namesake.

"What if we named him after someone who did something good?" Neville suggested. "Like someone who passed away at the Battle?"

She thought of the fifty names engraved on the black marble statue that stood in Hogwart's rebuilt courtyard. She thought of all the people murdered even before the Battle of Hogwarts, for standing up against Voldemort, for having muggle blood, or for even being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The problem was deciding which of so many deserving people they would name their son after.

"I don't even know how we'd choose," Hannah murmured.

"What about a friend," Neville sounded hesitant this time. "What if we named him Justin?"

She quietly flipped to the next page, avoiding making eye contact with Neville. She liked the idea of honouring their lost loved ones with a name. But that particular name came with a lot of history to her. It didn't feel right to name her first son with Neville after her dead boyfriend.

She shook her head. "Isn't that a little weird?"

"I know how much he means to you, Hannah. It's an option, if you want it."

Her life could have gone in so many different directions, but Hannah tried not to think about what it would have been like if her boyfriend had never been killed. The past few years had been emotionally draining enough to get to this point in her pregnancy. She wanted a name with a little less baggage attached to it.

"What about Colin? He was your friend." Hannah softly suggested. "He could have been safe, but he came back the moment you sent out the message. He was so young too, not even seventeen."

Colin had been the youngest person killed that night, and Hannah could still vividly recall the tiny body that had been brought into the Great Hall during the hour-long armistice.

"Colin Thomas Longbottom," Neville tested out the name. She smiled at the inclusive of her father and grandfather's name. "We should send an owl to Dennis first, make sure it's okay with the family."

The baby moved in response, giving her a rather strong kick. Hannah cringed as she rubbed the spot, trying to get him to settle down. "I think that means he approves."

xXxXx

When Susan climbed out of the fireplace, Hannah could have wept with relief. "Oh thank Merlin you're here!"

"I came as soon as I could, how bad are they?"

The contractions had started early in the morning, and had been slowly intensifying over the course of her day. While Neville would come home in an instant if he knew, Hannah wanted someone who would be a little more calm and pragmatic about the whole ordeal. It was going to be a while before she needed to go to the hospital.

And Neville, honestly, would just be freaking out.

"A little worse than period cramps," Hannah said, "And they're getting closer together. Every twelve minutes or so?"

"Okay," Susan nodded, "You've got a while to go yet. Where's Neville?"

"He's in class - " Hannah was cut short by another contraction, wincing as her stomach felt like it had balled up into a fist.

"Labour trumps class," Susan dismissed. With that, she waved her wand and a silvery goat leapt out and hopped around the room before jumping out of the window. "Now let's see if we can make you a little comfortable while we wait, I don't think you want to go to the hospital just yet."

"He's just going to worry," Hannah protested. "Honestly, it might be better if he's distracted for a little while."

"Let him worry and fuss over you, it's _his_ baby you're having. He doesn't get to run and hide until it's over."

Susan ran Hannah a warm bath after that, trying to make her somewhat comfortable between contractions. She sat on the toilet, just behind the closed curtain, distracting Hannah with news of her two daughters. It wasn't working so much, as Hannah closed her eyes and thought about the upcoming delivery. The excitement of finally getting to meet her son was tinged with a lot of anxiety. _Everything is going to be fine_, she shakily reassured herself. _By this time tomorrow you'll have your son in your arms._

"We've been talking about a third, I think Ernie's hoping for a boy this time round - "

Susan was cut short by the sound of a large crack outside their window. Hannah could hear Susan move around, standing up on the toilet. She was probably looking out the small, circular window to look down at the front step. "Neville's home."

"Hannah?" She could hear her husband call out as he ran upstairs. "Is everything all right?"

"In the bathroom," Susan yelled back.

He was rather breathless when he opened the door. Hannah knew without a doubt that he had run across the large Hogwarts grounds until he made it out of the anti-apparation jinx. It was a miracle he didn't splinch himself. "I came as soon as I could - " he stopped as he caught himself. "Shouldn't we be going to the hospital?"

Susan stretched her arms over her head and cracked her shoulders, "We've got a little while to go. Why don't you go make an early supper? Pasta, I think, Hannah's going to need energy later."

The next few hours stretched on. Hannah ate a little supper, but didn't have much appetite. She tried to take a nap, but couldn't get comfortable for very long. Susan was in her element, taking control of the situation and bossing Neville around. They packed her bag for the trip to the hospital, sent out an owl to find a replacement professor for Neville, checked that the nursery was ready. Every so often, Susan would time her contractions to see how far along she was.

Around seven o'clock in the evening, the contractions finally started getting closer tonight.

Neville was in the middle of a floo-call to Michael, making plans for when they would have to leave for the hospital. He pulled his head out of the fireplace for a moment. "Michael wants to know how long the contractions are lasting and how far apart?"

Susan looked at her wrist-watch, "The last one was sixty-three seconds, and they're six minutes apart now."

There was a few seconds when Neville stuck his head back in to relay that information to Michael, before pulling his head out again.

"Michael's on his way," Neville informed them, getting up from the fireplace. "He said he'll be in the reception area when we get there."

There was a flurry of activity around her, and soon Neville was at her side with her bag for the hospital and the set of portkeys from the ministry. He wrapped an arm tightly around her, as if not to lose her while travelling. His other hand held hers, and pressed between their palms was the red key that would take them to St Mungo's.

"Are you ready?" he asked. Hannah could feel the kiss on the top of her head.

Another contraction came, more intense than the ones before. Hannah breathed in deeply, before letting it out, waiting for this one to pass. "I think so. St Mungos!"

She could feel the key magically activate in their hands. She could feel the tug before they were off to the hospital.

xXxXx

Hannah felt exhausted and sore, but also very content.

After several hours of labour, and a very exhausting hour of pushing, her baby had come screaming into their world just moments ago. She collapsed into the bed while Neville stroked her matted hair and told her how proud he was of her. "I love you, you're really wonderful, you know?"

"Mmm, love you too," Hannah tiredly agreed. The painless potion had helped, but now that it was wearing off she could feel the aches and pains from what her body just endured. She was completely drained, although the excitement kept her from dozing off just yet.

She was rather impatient as she waited to be handed her son.

Neville at least got to do the severing charm before Michael took him. Their son was to be cleaned and checked over before being handed off to be fussed over by his parents. She had been waiting what felt like forever for this moment, and these last few minutes felt impossibly long. Finally, she heard the words she had been waiting for:

"Here Neville, why don't you pass this little guy over to Mum?"

Feeling suddenly alert, Hannah managed to prop herself up so she could hold him. Neville carefully walked across the room, cradling their son as he smiled down at him, speaking soft words.

"Here he is," she cooed as Neville placed the little bundle into her arms at last. Her heart wanted to burst with joy at the sight of him. "Here's my little boy."

While she knew that Michael had examined him, Hannah wasn't content until she did her own. There were five little fingers on each hand. Five little toes on each foot. Two ears, two eyes, a nose and little bow-shaped mouth. His hair was a very fine white-blond and almost invisible on top of his head. He had two big baby blue eyes that stared up curiously at her. He had her nose, she decided, but his cheeks were round and chubby like Neville's had been in their youth.

"He looks just like his Mummy, doesn't he?" Neville softly asked. He had sat on the edge of her hospital bed, one arm around her as he watched both of them.

"I think there's a little of Daddy in him too." She gently brushed her thumb over his smooth cheeks, completely in awe.

After all the frustration and heartbreak, they finally had their baby. Tears dampened her cheeks. He was breathtakingly perfect.

Michael handed over a birth certificate, where he had signed off with the date, time and location. There were a few blank spaces, including signatures from the mother and father, and the full name.

"Does he have a name yet, or do you need some time to think about it?"

Hannah tilted her head up to catch Neville's eye. They hadn't shared the name with too many, in case they changed their minds when they finally got to see him. For the past month they had been calling him Colin more and more in private, especially once Dennis Creevey wrote them back with the family's blessing. And now that she was looking at him, she couldn't think of any other name that would suit him.

"Our son's name is Colin Thomas Longbottom," Neville proudly announced.


	10. Epilogue

**Breath of Life**

by ChatterChick

Summary: They were happy. They were healthy. Their lives were coming beautifully together. Follow Neville and Hannah Longbottom on their journey to start their family.

_***updated as of 04/05/15***_

Thank you to all my reviewers, Gitana de Sol, lokilette, Sable Supernova, HPNARNIAFAN15404, alyssialui, whitetiger91, nymphxdora, The Rose in Death's Garden, The Lady Arturia, Nightmare Prince, Summer Leigh Wind, TwilightMoonbeams, LunaPadma, 0WolfMoon0, chocolatecheesecakes, RosevalleyNB, J.F.C, QueenRayne, Pie for President '16, JadedEpiphany, Mycroft-mione, Jemennuie and Guests for their support and encouragement throughout this! I was constantly tweaking minor things thanks to your thoughtful advice. If you've been silently following along, I'd really appreciate it if you could drop a few lines to tell me know what you thought. Cheers!

**_Also, this accepts Rowling's pottermore as canon_**. In the articles about the 2014 Quidditch World Cup, it says that there are rumours Hannah Longbottom retrained as a healer and applied for the Matron at Hogwarts. It didn't mention anything about them having children, so I took creative liberties for that part.

* * *

**Epilogue**

_September 1st, 2019_

The steam billowed out from the Hogwarts Express, just like Hannah remembered. Although this was her first time in years being on the platform in Kings Cross Station, having not been there since she had been a student herself.

All around them, students cheerfully waved at the Longbottom family.

"Hi Professor! Hello Madame Longbottom!" They greeted as Hannah and her family walked by.

Lavender's predictions all came to pass. Hannah changed her career shortly after Colin was born, eventually selling her half of the Leaky to her brother. She took her Potions and Transfiguration NEWTs the year she was off with Colin and then retrained as a healer the next. After a few years of part-time work at St Mungos, Professor Flitwick, the then Headmaster of Hogwarts, approached her about taking over from Madame Pomphrey.

The Longbottoms manoeuvred their way through the crowds on the platform, mindful not to get separated in all the chaos. Her little family had grown up over time, and now Colin was old enough to attend Hogwarts himself. Technically, Colin could have just walked over with them when it came time for the Welcome Feast and sorting ceremony. They still lived at the Green House in Hogsmeade, only minutes away from the school. However, Hannah and Neville wanted him to have as much of a normal school experience as he could. They knew it couldn't be easy for Colin to have both parents working at his school. So that meant apparating to the train station in London so that Colin could take a several hour train trip back up to Scotland like the rest of his peers.

"Hello Myron, been practising for the cup I hope? Hi Rachel, congratulations on those OWLs." Neville cheerfully greeted his returning students, although they didn't pause too long to chat. There would be more than enough time for that in the upcoming days. A little girl with a round face and curly blonde hair held onto his hand and merrily waved back at the bigger teenagers.

Hannah had gone back to Lady Pythia's Oracle twice more, just like Lavender said she would. The first time had been two years after Colin was born, where Hannah and Neville learned they were having a second son. They named him Anthony Frank Longbottom, after lost friend and Neville's dad. Then two years after Anthony was born, Hannah and Neville returned to learn about their third child. They had both secretly hoped for a girl that time and Lavender told them they would not be disappointed. In the end, Hannah had a set of fraternal twins. Grace Minerva Longbottom and Alice Pomona Longbottom were named in honour of Hannah and Neville's mothers and former mentors.

"Well, here we are." Neville said. The bright scarlet engine was close enough to touch. Colin didn't have any luggage with him, other than a knapsack with his new school robes so he could change on the train. Neville was just going to shrink the trunk tonight and pass it to a house-elf after the sorting.

Colin stood on the balls of his feet, clearly excited to start his journey. He took after her side of the family in appearance, looking a lot like Luke had with his curly blond hair, blue eyes and mischievous smile. Although Colin seemed to have a daring streak that Hannah insisted came from Neville's side. Anthony was much shier than his brother and looked more like Neville, although his face was more of a heart-shape and he had a slight wave to his hair. He stood close to her on the platform, curiously looking around.

Hannah knew she wasn't ready for her baby to leave her. He would be twelve in just over a month, but it felt like the years had passed so quickly. It felt like yesterday he was a tiny little baby and now he was going off to Hogwarts.

It wouldn't be too different, Hannah tried to remind herself. Colin would just be living in a dormitory instead of their home in Hogsmeade. Besides, being staff at Hogwarts gave her certain privileges and she could see her son every day at the school and have him home every weekend. Although, she was certain that would only embarrass him. Indeed, that seemed to be Colin's main concern as they stood on the platform.

"It's not going to be weird, is it?" Colin was asking. "You being my professor?"

"Only as weird as you make it," Neville teased. "If you misbehave in my class I'll have to ground you in front of all your new friends."

"_Dad_," Colin whined.

Gracie tugged on Hannah's robes, "Mummy can we sit in Daddy's classes again? Oh please, we'll be really good!"

Alice quickly spun around to plead her case too. While Gracie had dirty-blonde locks and Alice had Hannah's blonde curls, the girls shared the same angelic blue eyes. Not that Hannah was fooled for a moment. She had seen them use those to fool too many adults too many times.

"You'll have to ask Daddy." Hannah decided and immediately the girls started badgering Neville.

Neville sometimes allowed the twins to assist in his class when they were working in the less dangerous greenhouses. It seemed that Gracie and Alice inherited their father's green thumb, or at the very least liked playing in the dirt and picking flowers. Neville's students usually spoiled them something awful, slipping them sweets in class and giggling when they misbehaved. Now that the girls were seven they could send them to the tiny primary school in Hogsmeade and didn't have to have them underfoot on the grounds.

"We'll see." Neville amended. "But you'll be going to school yourselves! I think that will be much more fun."

The train whistled, signalling it was just about time to leave. They quickly said their goodbyes to Colin, wishing him a safe trip and telling him they'd see him at the school. Hannah started sniffing as she hugged him, feeling her eyes prick with tears. Oh drat, she really didn't mean to get so emotional.

Colin looked alarmed. "Mum, you're not going to start _crying_ are you? You'll see me in a few hours!"

"Mum's just a little emotional seeing you all grown up," Neville nudged him. "Now, why don't you hop on that train and we'll see you tonight?"

Colin boarded the train, giving them another wave as he did so. It didn't take long for him to find a compartment with his friends. Soon enough, he, along with Lily Potter and Hugo Weasley stuck out their heads to wave goodbye to their families. Gracie and Alice skipped down the platform waving goodbye to their big brother as the train slowly pulled out of the station.

Neville wrapped his arm around Hannah's waist as they stood there waving the train off.

"It's not going to be the same without him around the house," Hannah told him. "Too quiet, you know?"

"We hardly have an empty nest yet." Neville gave a nod to where their three remaining children stood. "But it'll definitely be quieter."

Hannah wiped the tears that had gathered in the corners of her eyes. It was so hard to believe that nearly twelve years had passed since Neville handed her her beautiful baby boy. "If it gets too quiet, do you think we could have another one?"

Neville kissed her in response, to the absolute disgust of their younger children. "Maybe."

* * *

A/N Well there you go! If you like my writing, or if you like stories about minor characters be sure to check out my other story "Seven Devils". It fits in the same universe as this one and follows Michael Corner during his seventh year. Or Colin gets his own story in "How to Charm a Witch". Cheers!


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